Lexington, KY (Sports Network) - All five Kentucky Wildcat starters scored in
double figures as they bounced back from their first home loss under John
Calipari with an 88-56 victory over the Samford Bulldogs at Rupp Arena.
Archie Goodwin scored a game-high 18 points for Kentucky (5-3), which is
unranked for the first time under Calipari. Alex Poythress, Nerlens Noel and
Julius Mays shot a combined 17-of-23 from the field en route to 16, 13 and 10
points, respectively. Noel also blocked five shots. Julius Mays added 10
points while Willie Cauley-Stein contributed 12 off the bench.
Samford (2-8) also got a balanced scoring effort as four its starters
reached double digits led by Raijon Kelly with 14, all coming in the second
half. Clide Geffrard chipped in 12 and Connor Miller and Tim Williams each
netted 11.
The Wildcats dominated this game from the opening tip, scoring the first seven
points of the game on baskets from Poythress, Goodwin and Noel. Samford did
not reach double figures until Miller knocked down a three-pointer at the 4:15
mark. Kentucky had 37 points at that time and ended up ahead 45-14 at
intermission. Both Poythress and Noel were perfect from the field, combining
for 24 points on 11-of-11 shooting
The Bulldogs' offense picked up in the second half, but the game was never out
of reach for Kentucky. Both teams shot better than 50.0 percent from the
floor in the second half. Samford hit 6-of-10 from behind the arc.
Samford has now lost six of its last seven games while Kentucky bounces back
after consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Baylor.
GAME NOTES:
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