Reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe finished with a double-double and provided the spark Kentucky needed in the second half as the Wildcats pulled away to beat at Yale, 69-59, at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Kentucky moved to 7-2 while the Bulldogs dropped to 8-3. The Wildcats will next play against UCLA at Madison Square Garden in New York next Saturday.
The Wildcats, who extended their home win streak to 25 games, led the game throughout, trailing only 35-33 with 17:37 left to play. UK’s biggest lead came at 67-52 with four minutes remaining following an 8-0 run.
Tshiebwe, who scored 22 in the second half, finished with a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds while Sahvir Wheeler and Antonio Reeves added 10 each.
At Lexington
SCORE BY HALVES:
YL (8-3)…27 32 – 59
UK (7-2)..33 36 – 69
Scoring:
Yale (59) – EJ Jarvis 6 0-0 12; Isaiah Kelly 0 2-2 2; Ben Mbeng 1(1) 2-2 7; August Mahoney 2(2) 0-0 10; John Poulakidas 3(1) 0-0 9; Jack Molloy 3(2) 2-2 14; Michael Feinberg 0(1) 1-4 4; and Yassine Gharram 0 1-2 1. Totals: 15(7) 8-12 59.
Kentucky (69) – Jacob Toppin 2 0-0 4; Oscar Tshiebwe 13 2-3 28; Shaver Wheeler 5 0-1 10; Antonio Reeves 2(1) 3-4 10; Cason Wallace 0(2) 2-2 8; Chris Livingston 2(1) 0-0 7; and Ugonna Onyenso 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25(4) 7-10 69.
Next up: Kentucky (7-2) vs. UCLA (8-2), CBS Sports Classic, Madison Square Garden, New York, 5:15 pm, Dec. 17.