Wildcats Game Recap: Kentucky Defeats Harvard 79-70

Kentucky’s defense led to offense, especially in the second half, and the Wildcats defeated Harvard  79-70 at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky dominated Harvard defensively. The Wildcats had 9 blocks and 9 steals en route to a 79-70 victory over Tom Amaker’s Harvard Crimson. Kevin Knox led the way for Kentucky with 20 points.

In the first half Knox had 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2 from beyond the arc. Hamidou Diallo chipped in with 13 first half points and finished with 19. P.J. Washington spent the majority of the first half on the bench after getting tagged with two early fouls.

Harvard hung with Kentucky early due in most part to their ability to knock down the three-point shot. The Crimson were able to make eight three-pointers in the first half. Kentucky’s inability to make the outside shot allowed Harvard to employ a 2-3 zone defense throughout most of the game. Harvard trailed at the half 42-37.

Harvard’s Seth Towns was on fire from downtown. Towns was 6-of-7 from three-point range and finished with 25 points. The Kentucky guards held the Crimson’s leading scorer Bryce Aiken in check. Aiken hit only 2 of his 12 shots and scored only 9 points. Aiken had been averaging 19 points per game.

The UK bench played very well. Sacha Killeya-Jones finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the field for 9 points. Wenyen Gabriel made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball with 3 steals and 2 blocks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a solid all-around performance off the bench. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

A 15-2 run midway through the second half helped Kentucky increase their lead and eventually finish off the Crimson. The No. 7 ranked Wildcats moved to 7-1 on the season. Their next game is December 9th against Monmouth.