National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kentucky 68, Cleveland St. 61
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, November 25, 2013
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials: # Doug Shows, # James Breeding, # Tim Gattis
Attendance: 21067

No. 4 Kentucky 68, Cleveland State 61: Julius Randle posted his sixth consecutive double-double and the host Wildcats found just enough offense down the stretch to spoil the Vikings’ upset bid in the Keightley Classic.

Fourth-ranked Kentucky (5-1) shot just 35.8 percent from the field and trailed most of the night before closing the game with a 24-7 run. Randle scored 15 points with 15 rebounds and Willie Cauley-Stein added 11 points and four blocked shots.

Bryn Forbes led Cleveland State (3-3) with 22 points and Trey Lewis scored 15 points as the Vikings led by as many as 11 points in the second half before faltering down the stretch. Cleveland State shot 2-of-11 from the field in the final eight minutes.

Kentucky trailed 54-44 with seven minutes left but scored 12 consecutive points, James Young’s jumper from the left wing pushing the Wildcats ahead 56-54 with 3:22 remaining. Forbes put the Vikings up 57-56 on a 3-pointer 13 seconds later, but Harrison’s layup with 2:08 to play gave Kentucky the lead for keeps.

The Vikings held a 19-10 advantage eight minutes into the opening half, but a 15-3 spurt pushed the Wildcats up 25-22 on two Cauley-Stein free throws with 5:40 remaining in the half. But Cleveland State closed the half with a 9-2 run, scoring the final seven points to take a 31-27 advantage into the locker room, and pushed its lead to 44-33 on Lewis’ layup with 14:17 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Andrew Harrison scored 12 points for Kentucky, which scored 21 points below its season average. … Cleveland State dropped to 0-8 all-time against teams ranked in the top five. … The Wildcats made just 3-of-14 attempts from 3-point range.
Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland St.   Kentucky
Bryn Forbes 22 Scoring Julius Randle 15
Trey Lewis 4 Assists Andrew Harrison 5
Sebastian Douglas 6 Rebounds Julius Randle 15
Bryn Forbes 11 Free Throws Made Julius Randle 9
Jon Harris 2 Steals Willie Cauley-Stein 2
Jon Harris 1 Blocks Willie Cauley-Stein 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland St. 61 35.6 5-15 14-15 10 29 1 7 11
Kentucky 68 35.8 3-14 27-35 10 36 7 2 11