LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Oscar Tshiebwe had a career-high 24 points with 16 rebounds, TyTy Washington scored 16 points and No. 13 Kentucky shot well for the second consecutive game to run away from Mount St. Mary’s 80-55 on Tuesday night.
Sahvir Wheeler added 12 points and eight assists as the Wildcats (2-1) made 34 of 64 from the field (53%) a few days after hitting 57% in a 100-60 rout of Robert Morris.
Leading 38-27 at halftime, Kentucky broke the game open with a 23-5 run over 6:40 for a 61-32 cushion that grew to 31 with 7:24 remaining.
Tshiebwe helped set the tone with contributions on both ends on the way to his third double-double to start the season. The West Virginia transfer continued his strong rebounding, and he also made short and mid-range jumpers to finish 11 of 14 from the field and top his previous best of 21 points against Boston University on Nov. 22, 2019.
Washington shot 7 of 12 with a couple of 3-pointers. Keion Brooks Jr. contributed 10 points and seven rebounds to help the Wildcats win the boards 41-27 and dominate the paint 46-16.
Josh Reaves and Jalen Benjamin scored 11 points each for Mount St. Mary’s (1-3), which shot 34% and lost its second consecutive game.
THE BIG PICTURE
Mount St. Mary’s: The Mountaineers went back and forth with Kentucky early on but steadily fell off the pace and were quickly left behind just seven minutes into the second half.
Kentucky: The Wildcats followed almost the same pattern as against Robert Morris, sorting things out before erupting. Tshiebwe showed a lot of confidence in his jumper and proved he can also score away from the basket.
UP NEXT
Mount St. Mary’s visits Robert Morris on Friday night.
Kentucky hosts Ohio on Friday night.
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