Kentucky fends off Florida A&M down the stretch to secure 88-68 win

Kentucky came out of the gates firing in both the first and second halves, but allowed Florida A&M to make things more interesting than they needed to be down the stretch.

Even still, the Wildcats came away with an 88-68 win over the Rattlers on Wednesday night in Rupp Arena. Kentucky began the night with a 16-2 lead in the opening stages and led by 10 at the halftime break, but was never able to grow the lead into blowout territory until the closing moments, settling on the 20-point victory.

Florida A&M, which came into Wednesday night ranked as the 358th best team in the country, per KenPom, shot 52 percent from the floor, 56 percent from 3-point range (9-16), and 88 percent from the free throw line. Kentucky was powered by a career-best 27 points to go along with nine assists and four steals from freshman Cason Wallace. CJ Fredrick, Antonio Reeves, and Oscar Tshiebwe all scored in double-figures for the ‘Cats, as well.

After falling to UCLA in Madison Square Garden over the weekend, Kentucky came out firing on all cylinders against Florida A&M. The ‘Cats led by double-digits for the majority of the first half before letting the Rattlers ease their way back into the game. At the halftime break, UK still held a 10-point lead, 42-32, but allowed Florida A&M, one of the worst shot-making teams in the nation, to shoot 52 percent overall from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action.

The second half started off similar to the first, with Wallace and fellow freshman Chris Livingston lighting up Florida A&M. Those two rookies scored 14 of Kentucky’s first 16 points after the break as the Wildcats’ advantage grew to as many as 21 points midway through the half.

But Florida A&M would soon respond with an impressive 14-0 run, cutting the Kentucky lead down to as few as seven with a little over five minutes left in regulation. That was as close as the Rattlers would get though, as Kentucky burned off a 13-2 run that put the game out of reach.

Kentucky finished the contest shooting 53 percent from the floor and an efficient 13-23 (57 percent) from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats turned the ball over three fewer times than Florida A&M while outrebounding the Rattlers by 19.

Next up for Kentucky is Missouri on the road in one week. The ‘Cats will face the Tigers in Columbia on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 7:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.