It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but it will do.
Kentucky managed to outlast Bellarmine in Lexington on Tuesday with a 60-41 victory.
Antonio Reeves had 14 of his 18 points in the second half, landing in double-figure scoring in six of the seven games this season.
Jacob Toppin scored all 12 of his points in the second half and had five rebounds while CJ Fredrick tossed in 11 points, eight in the second half.
Oscar Tshiebwe collected eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds, adding three blocked shots and two steals while Sahvir Wheeler had six points and a game-high six assists.
The win extended the Wildcats’ home win streak to 24 games, dating back to the 2020-21 season, and is the longest active home win streak in the Southeastern Conference and (as this is written) tied for second-longest in the nation.
Both teams started slowly on offense, with a pair of Bellarmine 3-pointers the only baskets of the game’s first four minutes.
The Wildcats got their first score on its seventh possession when Reeves tallied a tip-in at 15:38.
Kentucky got its first lead, 13-12, on a Wallace free throw with 5:27 on the clock.
Kentucky’s first 3-pointer of the game, a long ball by Wheeler at the 4:43 mark, shoved the team ahead 16-14, igniting an 8-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 21-14 advantage.
Bellarmine responded with a 7-0 spurt that knotted the count at 21 at halftime.
It was Kentucky’s best defensive half of the season and also the Wildcats’ lowest scoring half of the season. Tshiebwe led the Cats with six points and six rebounds.
Trailing 28-26 in the second half, Bellarmine hit consecutive 3-pointers to go ahead 32-28.
Reeves ended a three-minute drought with a 3-pointer from the left corner, Wheeler tied it with a foul shot, Fredrick put Kentucky ahead two free throws, Toppin added two more and Fredrick put the icing on an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer from the right wing, making the score 39-32 for the Wildcats.
Bellarmine was held scoreless for almost six minutes, from 16:08 to 10:14, before connecting a 3-pointer.
Kentucky added a 12-0 spurt, for a total run of 23-3, to push the count to 51-35. Bellarmine scored only three points over a 10-minute stretch.
