Cats Knock Off Texas Tech 76 - 65

Kentucky's second exhibition game looked much more like the kind of basketball Big Blue Nation hopes to see when the games begin counting in November.

The No. 23 Wildcats overcame an ugly start, ripped off a game-changing run late in the first half and then answered every Texas Tech challenge down the stretch to defeat the No. 19 Red Raiders 76-65 Friday night at Rupp Arena.

It was far from perfect, but against a nationally ranked opponent, Kentucky showed scoring balance, improved ball security, defensive length and enough late-game composure to turn a tight contest into an 11-point victory.

Kentucky's scoring was about as balanced as Mark Pope could have hoped for. Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno scored 15 points apiece, freshman Mason Williams added 14, Alex Wilkins scored 13 and Ousmane N'Diaye finished with 10.

Moreno gave Kentucky a dependable option around the basket, shooting 6-of-9 from the field while adding six rebounds and three assists. Momcilovic was remarkably efficient, scoring his 15 points on only five field-goal attempts. He made three of those shots, hit two three-pointers and was a perfect 7-of-7 at the free-throw line.

Williams continued to look like a freshman who may force his way into a major role. He scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, knocked down two three-pointers and did not commit a turnover in 27 minutes.

Wilkins saved much of his best work for the second half. In addition to his 13 points, he handed out a game-high seven assists and recorded three steals.

Early on, Kentucky appeared to be fighting some of the same problems that showed up in the exhibition opener against Little Rock.

The Wildcats committed seven turnovers in the first 11 minutes and missed their first eight three-point attempts. Texas Tech took advantage and eventually built a 25-18 lead.

Then the game changed completely.

Kentucky's defense began creating offense, the Wildcats started moving the basketball and Texas Tech suddenly found itself struggling to get clean possessions.

Justin McBride scored in transition, N'Diaye converted a three-point play, Moreno scored inside and Momcilovic finally broke Kentucky's three-point drought.

When the run was finished, Kentucky had scored 15 consecutive points and turned a seven-point deficit into a 33-25 advantage.

Texas Tech recovered enough to make it close again before halftime, but Wilkins scored just before the buzzer and Kentucky carried a 37-33 lead into the locker room.

Kentucky immediately pushed the margin higher after halftime.

N'Diaye hit a three-pointer and the Wildcats opened the second half with a 10-2 run that stretched the lead to 47-35, Kentucky's largest advantage of the night to that point.

Texas Tech answered.

Donovan Atwell hit consecutive three-pointers, Kentucky went through a lengthy offensive drought and the Red Raiders steadily erased the deficit. Texas Tech finally pulled even at 52-52 with less than nine minutes remaining.

A few possessions later, the game was tied again at 54-54.

That was when Kentucky's freshmen and young guards took over.

Texas Tech stayed close, cutting the margin to three at 62-59, but Wilkins delivered two of the biggest shots of the night.

He buried a three to make it 65-59, then connected from deep again a short time later to stretch Kentucky's advantage to 70-61.

Momcilovic supplied the dagger with another three-pointer after Kentucky kept an offensive possession alive, giving the Wildcats a 73-63 advantage with less than two minutes remaining.

After the game was tied at 54, Kentucky outscored Texas Tech 22-11 the rest of the way.

One of the most important numbers in the entire box score was 19-of-22.

That was Kentucky's performance at the free-throw line, good for 86.4 percent. Texas Tech, meanwhile, attempted only six free throws and made five.

Kentucky earned 16 more free-throw attempts than the Red Raiders and outscored them 19-5 at the line. In an 11-point game, that was enormous.

Momcilovic was perfect at 7-of-7, Wilkins made five free throws, Moreno went 3-of-4 and Williams converted both of his attempts.

If there was an obvious concern coming out of the victory, it was defensive rebounding.

Texas Tech grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and generated 15 second-chance points. Josiah Moseley was particularly active on the glass, finishing with 10 rebounds.

Kentucky's length bothered Texas Tech into 40.6 percent shooting overall and only 8-of-30 from three, but too many of those misses turned into another Red Raider possession.

Against the best teams on Kentucky's regular-season schedule, finishing defensive possessions with a rebound will be critical.

The most encouraging part of Friday night's win may not have been any single statistic.

Kentucky responded when things went wrong.

The Wildcats fell behind by seven in the first half and answered with a 15-0 run. They built a 12-point advantage in the second half, watched Texas Tech erase all of it and then responded again when the game was tied.

Kentucky also showed significant improvement with the basketball. After committing 19 turnovers against Little Rock, the Wildcats finished with only 11 against Texas Tech. Seven of those came in the first 11 minutes, meaning Kentucky committed only four over the final 29 minutes.

The Cats also assisted on 18 of their 25 made field goals, another encouraging sign for a Mark Pope offense that depends heavily on movement and unselfish basketball.