FINAL: Second-half burst pushes No. 13 Kentucky MBB past Ohio, 77-59

65 seconds into Friday night’s game, Oscar Tshiebwe found himself on the bench with two fouls. Despite Kentucky’s best player sitting the rest of the first half, the No. 13 Wildcats used an impressive second-half run to take down the Ohio Bobcats by a final score of 77-59.

Cats by 18 😼 pic.twitter.com/KdXQQ17lhp

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 20, 2021

Coming into the night averaging 18.3 points and 18.7 rebounds, Tshiebwe couldn’t even get a sweat going before he was hit with two quick fouls. Without Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware due to injury, the UK frontcourt was looking incredibly thin. But 12 points and five rebounds from Keion Brooks Jr. along with eight points and seven boards from TyTy Washington saved UK early.

Foul trouble aside, Kentucky went into the locker room with a 40-38 advantage. Ohio was shooting incredibly well. But once Tshiebwe came back, the ‘Cats took off.

Ohio was able to keep pace with Kentucky throughout the first few minutes of the second half, but it didn’t last long. Tied at 48, UK went on a 9-0 run to bust the game open. At the same time, Ohio’s previously hot shooting finally cooled down while Kentucky found its rhythm on offense.

In the end, Kentucky comfortably beat the Bobcats by 18. UK posted its best rebounding outing of the young season, winning that battle 53-17. The ‘Cats didn’t shoot well from distance (3-16) but finished 48 percent overall.

Tshiebwe still managed to add 10 rebounds in his 20 minutes. Brooks led UK with 22 points and eight rebounds while Washington followed behind with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. Davion Mintz and Sahvir Wheeler also scored in double-figures with 12 and 11, respectively.

We’ll be back soon with full postgame coverage.