No. 23 Kentucky 82, Marshall 54: Sophomore Ryan Harrow scored a career-high 23 points in his second game as a starter as the host Wildcats used a second-half surge to cruise past the Thundering Herd.
Archie Goodwin added 18 points while fellow freshman Nerlens Noel posted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky (8-3), which has won four straight at Rupp Arena by at least 28 points after seeing its 55-game home winning streak come to an end on Dec. 1 against Baylor.
Elijah Pittman gave Marshall (7-6) its last lead at 20-18 with 11:43 remaining in the first half, but a jumper and 3-pointer by Harrow sparked a half-ending 15-4 surge as the Herd went through a 2-for-16 spell from the floor.
Marshall came out of the break with six unanswered points, but went without a field goal for a 6:18 span to allow the Wildcats to unleash a 17-4 run and push the margin to as much as 31 in the second half.
Pittman had 20 points and Nigel Spikes grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds to lead the Herd.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kentucky enjoyed a 52-20 advantage in the paint and committed a season-low nine turnovers. … Spikes notched his fifth game of at least 11 rebounds this season, but fell short of his career high of 19 he collected against Ohio in a first-round loss of the 2011 CIT Tournament. …. The Wildcats, who are in the midst of a stretch of playing just four games in four weeks, will conclude that part of the schedule when they hit the road for the first time since Nov. 29 next Saturday to face arch-rival No. 4 Louisville.
Marshall | Kentucky | |
Elijah Pittman 20 | Scoring | Ryan Harrow 23 |
D.D. Scarver 4 | Assists | Julius Mays 5 |
Nigel Spikes 16 | Rebounds | Nerlens Noel 10 |
Elijah Pittman 5 | Free Throws Made | Archie Goodwin 10 |
DeVince Boykins 1 | Steals | Ryan Harrow 3 |
Robert Goff 1 | Blocks | Willie Cauley-Stein 3 |