Mouhamed Dioubate scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting and collected 11 rebounds to help No. 9 Kentucky roll to a 99-53 victory over Eastern Illinois on Friday night at Lexington, Ky.
Denzel Aberdeen had 13 points and Otega Oweh added 12 for the Wildcats (3-1), who rebounded from a 96-88 loss to No. 12 Louisville on Tuesday.
Andrija Jelavic and Malachi Moreno had 11 points apiece for Kentucky, which shot a sizzling 60.9% from the field and was 9 of 25 from 3-point range.
Terry McMorris registered 18 points, three blocked shots and two steals for the Panthers (1-3), who never led. Andrew Austin made three treys while adding 13 points for Eastern Illinois.
The Wildcats held a commanding 49-17 rebounding advantage, Kentucky also had a 24-6 edge on fastbreak points.
Dioubate scored 10 points in each half. He also rejected two shots and had two steals.
Eastern Illinois made just 32.7% of its shots and hit 6 of 18 from behind the arc.
Brandon Garrison scored six points during an early 13-0 run that saw the Wildcats take a 15-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest.
Kentucky ripped off 13 consecutive points again later in the half. Aberdeen capped that run with a steal and dunk to make it 32-13 with 8:52 left.
The lead reached 30 on Trent Noah’s layup with 42 seconds left before the Wildcats led 47-19 entering the break.
Oweh scored back-to-back baskets to open the second half to push the Kentucky lead back over 30.
A basket by McMorris pulled Eastern Illinois within 53-23 with 17:13 remaining before the Wildcats ran off 12 straight points. Jelavic’s steal and layup ended that run to make it a 42-point margin with 13:43 remaining.
The Panthers scored 10 of the next 13 points with Kooper Jacobi’s jumper cutting their deficit to 68-33 with 9:54 remaining.
Aberdeen’s steal and dunk pushed Kentucky’s lead to 76-36 with 7:15 left.
The advantage reached 47 for the first time on Jelavic’s dunk with 2:02 remaining.
–Field Level Media
