Bellarmine, known for its bulldog defensive mentality, had No. 19 Kentucky turn the tables on them in the second half as the Wildcats took control midway through and went on to score a 60-41 victory at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats improved to 5-2 while dropping the Knights to 2-6. UK has now won 24 straight games at Rupp Arena, the longest streak in the SEC.
The game was tied at 21-all at the break. CJ Fredrick’s two free throws with 12:15 left put Kentucky ahead for good.
Antonio Reeves led the Wildcats with 18 points. Jacob Toppin finished with 13 and Fredrick tossed in 12. Reeves scored 14 in the second half and Toppin scored all of his after the break.
Oscar Tshiebwe was a basket shy of a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing 12 boards.
Kentucky will next play against Michigan in London on Dec. 4 .Tipoff is set for 1 pm.
At Lexington
SCORE BY HALVES:
BM (2-6)…..21 20 – 41
UK (5-2)……21 39 – 60
Scoring:
Bellarmine (41) – Juston Betz 3(1) 0-0 9; Garrett Tipton 0 2-2 2; Bash Wieland 3(1) 1-2 10; Curt Hopf 0(5) 0-0 15; and Alec Pfriem 0(1) 2-2 5. Totals: 6(8) 5-6 41.
Kentucky (60) – Jacob Toppin 4 4-4 12; Sahvir Wheeler 1(1) 1-2 6; Antonio Reeves 4(3) 1-1 18; Cason Wallace 1 1-2 3; Oscar Tshiebwe 4 0-0 8; CJ Fredrick 0(3) 2-2 11; and Lance Ware 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15(7) 9-11 60.
Next up: Kentucky (5-2) vs. Michigan (5-2), at London, England, 1 pm, Dec. 4.