LSU was no match for Kentucky on Tuesday night.
The 19th-ranked Wildcats bounced back from an 84-78 loss to top-ranked Auburn with a 95-64 win on Senior Night. Kentucky honored senior Ansley Almonor and graduate seniors Andrew Carr, Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, Amari Williams and Jaxson Robinson before rolling to an easy victory in its home finale.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope praised his upperclassmen for their ability to come together in a brief amount of time shortly after he was hired last spring. Following the decisive victory, Pope and all six players addressed the crowd.
"These seniors became so close,” Pope said. “It was really fun. … It was just so fantastic. It was really special.”
Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh agreed and wanted nothing more than to give the team’s six seniors a 15th victory at home. The Wildcats (20-10, 9-8 Southeastern Conference) assured themselves of a break-even season in the conference.
“It’s a brotherhood that will go on forever,” Oweh said. “I’m just glad we got to go out with a win.”
Just as he did at Oklahoma last week, Oweh carried the Wildcats when they needed a lift following a disappointing setback. Oweh led four players in double figures with 24 points. He scored a career-high 28 points against the Sooners.
“We just wanted to respond after (last) Saturday,” he said. “I think we did a good job of just being intent on defense and purposeful offense. It's always a good way to close out the last game (at home) with a win.”
It was the team's defense that gave Kentucky the boost it needed after missing the first three field goals, coupled with two turnovers in the first few minutes of the contest.
The Wildcats put the game away with a 15-0 run in the first half, a scoring spree that pushed the margin to 15-2 and kept growing throughout the contest. Kentucky had another spurt — a 12-0 run after the Tigers scored six straight — that set the tone for the blowout victory.
“It was just a fantastic performance on their senior night,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “It's really hard to simulate their pace of play in transition. They were fantastic. They're pushing the basketball getting easy threes in the open floor.”
The Wildcats made 12 3-pointers but had 22 assists and just eight turnovers — 10 less than the final tally in the loss to Auburn.
“I was really proud of our guys and how they responded tonight after a tough game on Saturday,” Pope said. “Their focus I thought was pretty good — I thought it was elite, especially on the defensive end.”
Almonor, Brandon Garrison and Collin Chandler combined for 41 of Kentucky’s 43 points off the bench. Almonor and Garrison had 15 points each, while Chandler drained three treys and contributed 11 points off the bench.
Pope liked the way Almonor, who made three shots from long range, provided a scoring presence for the Wildcats off the bench.
"I thought he was terrific — my goodness, what a season he's had," Pope said. "And for a guy that never thought he'd be wearing a Kentucky jersey. Think about the huge impactful moments that he's had in games for us. He's going to be big down the stretch."
GAMETRACKER: Kentucky at Missouri, 11 a.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN. UK Radio Network SuperTalk 94.3 WKYX, WiLLiE 102.
Photo by Les Nicholson - Kentucky Today
