Belmont 80 - 93 20Kentucky
Final
  for this game

Randle helps Kentucky fend off Belmont

Dec 21, 2013 - 8:48 PM Lexington, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Julius Randle had 29 points and 10 rebounds in the 19th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats' 93-80 victory over the Belmont Bruins on Saturday.

Randle missed just two of his 10 shots from the field and went 13-of-19 from the foul line for the Wildcats (9-3), who bounced back from a loss to North Carolina last Saturday.

Aaron Harrison tallied 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Kentucky, which went 26-of-36 from the charity stripe. Willie Cauley-Stein donated 16 points and seven boards.

"Definitely, we had a sense of urgency and hopefully (we will) keep that," Cauley-Stein said.

Craig Bradshaw and Drew Windler ended with 22 and 21 points, respectively, for the Bruins (8-5), who have lost three in a row.

The Bruins made things interesting early thanks to a 13-2 run midway through the first half. Windler made two 3-pointers during the surge that J.J. Mann capped with a layup for a 25-14 Belmont lead.

"We say this all the time regardless of which way it's going, but it's a 40 minute game. You can't get too excited about what the score is," Belmont coach Rick Byrd said.

But the Wildcats made their presence felt in the latter stages of the first period. The home team used a 9-0 spurt to make it 41-41 with 24 seconds to go.

Windler stopped the flurry with a pair of free throws to give the Bruins a two-point margin at the break.

Trailing 48-46 early in the second half, Kentucky took control with a 20-9 run. Harrison tallied 11 points during the burst, including two free throws with 9:16 remaining to make it a 66-57 contest.

The Wildcats turned the game into a rout moments later with an 11-3 run. They outscored Belmont by a 52-37 margin in the second frame.

Game Notes

Saturday's game marked the first-ever meeting between these two teams ... Kentucky improved to 36-0 against teams comprising the Ohio Valley Conference ... The Wildcats shot 55.2 percent from the floor ... Windler went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.






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