Lamont Butler returned to Kentucky’s lineup Saturday in spectacular fashion, scoring a career-high 33 points to lead the fifth-ranked Wildcats past the visiting Louisville Cardinals 93-85 in Lexington, Ky.
The fifth-year point guard missed the last two games for the Wildcats (10-1) due to an ankle injury. Butler went 10-for-10 from the floor, including six from beyond the 3-point stripe to keep the pesky, undermanned Cardinals (6-5) from scoring an upset.
Butler became the fourth player in Kentucky history to shoot 10 or more shots and make them all. His 6-for-6 performance from the 3-point stripe was topped only by Wenyen Gabriel, who went 7-for-7 on March 10, 2018, against Alabama.
He also tied a season-high with six assists.
Kentucky started hot, making its first five shots, and stayed that way throughout the first half. The Wildcats connected on 12 of their first 15 and led by as much as 28-16 less than nine minutes into the game. Despite the hosts shooting 69.6 percent in the first half compared to its 41.7 percent, Louisville managed to battle back to get within four points three times.
Butler finished with 12 points and four assists in the first half and made all four of his shots, including a layup in the waning seconds to give Kentucky a 46-40 halftime lead.
Kentucky finished shooting 58.2 percent and also got 17 from Otega Oweh. Jaxson Robinson added 12, while Koby Brea and Andrew Carr both added 10.
Louisville never led past the first minute but stayed in the game behind the play of Chucky Hepburn, who scored 26 points, and Terrence Edwards, Jr., who scored 23. It was Edwards’ third consecutive 20-point performance, all as a reserve.
Noah Waterman added 12 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for Louisville, which also got 10 points each from Reyne Smith and J’Vonne Hadley.
The Cardinals entered Saturday ranked 344th out of 355 Division I teams, making just 27 percent of their 3-point shots. However, they made a season-high 14 on Saturday.
Louisville got within three points three times in the second half but never within the final 10 minutes. All five of the Cardinals’ losses have come to teams currently ranked in the Associated Press poll.
–Field Level Media
