Winning Streak Reaches Seven to Start Season
LEXINGTON – November 29, 2024 – Michael Willis
Kentucky faced off against the Georgia State Panthers earlier tonight and were favorited by 31.5 points. Coming off the less than stellar win against Western Kentucky, some fans wondered if they could reach a high spread, and the Cats fell just 3 points short, winning 105-76.
It was a sloppy start for the Wildcats who had back-to-back turnovers on their first two possessions which kept the game close until a 9-0 run by Kentucky put them on top 20-10. The Panthers would not quit despite getting down by double-digits and managed to pull back within 3 with 5:43 left in the first half, but within 1:15 the Cats scored 8 points putting them back in the lead for good. Kentucky to a 48-33 lead into the locker room at the half.
Kentucky and Georgia State traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half. Kentucky’s defense was slacking in the second half and it allowed the Panthers to pull back with 6. With 12:37 left in the second half a flagrant foul was given to Georgia State’s Clash Peters and after the teams were separated and fouls handed out, Kentucky dominated the rest of the game. The Wildcats led by as many as 35, but the lead dropped after three unadvised threes by Kerr Kriisa.
Jaxson Robinson led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points, followed closely by Lamont Butler with 17 points. Butler also led the team in assists with 6.
It wasn’t a great shooting night for Kentucky making only 27% (7-26) of their three-point attempts, but were still able to score 105 points which shows their ability to adapt to the game. Many of the Cats points came from driving to the rim and playing through contact.
The last two games have been very physical contest for the Wildcats and it appears that is how teams will play them from now on. We will see how the Cats handle pressure from a better team when the team hits the road to play Clemson. The game will be on Tue. December 3rd at 9:30
