Photo by Jeff Houchin
On Sunday night, Rupp Arena played host to a matchup between the Kentucky Wildcats and Virginia Military Institute Keydets.
With Kentucky desperately trying to bury their season-opening loss to Duke behind them, their current opponent caught fire from behind the arc to start the game.
With the Keydets opening the game shooting 6-9 from three-point range, the score was rather close early on. However, Kentucky began to pull away from VMI for a halftime score of 48-34.
After halftime, the Keydets battled back with more long-range shots but Kentucky’s inside presence continued to overpower VMI en route to a 92-82 win.
Veteran big men PJ Washington and Reid Travis led the way, combining to score 41 points and grab 24 rebounds.
Individually, Travis scored 22 points on eight shots while grabbing six rebounds. Washington picked up where he left off last Wednesday, scoring 19 points in addition to his 18 rebounds.
Quade Green added a 17 point performance from Kentucky’s back court and Keldon Johnson scored nine points.
Freshmen Ashton Hagans (two blocks) and EJ Montgomery (three blocks) brought the defense for Kentucky. Hagans also added four assists while Montgomery grabbed five rebounds.
VMI’s Bubba Parham had a standout performance for the Keydets, scoring 35 points in the loss.
Head coach John Calipari and his team now sit 3-1 on the season, winning three consecutive home games.
They’ll have a quick turnaround on Wednesday, hosting Winthrop at 1 P.M. EDT.
