No. 8 Kentucky eclipses 100 again in win over Georgia State

On By Littum

NCAA Basketball: Georgia State at KentuckyNovember 29, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Andrew Carr (7) celebrates after a basket and foul in the first half against the Georgia State Panthers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Jaxson Robinson scored a team-high 19 points, helping lead No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats to a 105-76 victory over the visiting Georgia State Panthers in Lexington, Ky. Friday.

Lamont Butler added 17 points and six assists for Kentucky (7-0), eclipsing the 100-point total for the fourth time this year. Amari Williams had 14 points, Otega Oweh added 12, while Andrew Carr and Koby Brea each scored 10 for the Wildcats, who made 40 of 67 (59.7 percent) shots from the field.

Cesare Edwards led Georgia State (4-4) with 21 points, followed by Zarique Nutter’s 19. Malachi Brown chipped in 11 points and five assists for the Panthers, who have lost two of three.

Early in the first half, Nutter’s mid-range jumper cut Kentucky’s lead to 11-10 before Robinson’s layup started a 9-0 Wildcat scoring run.

Five straight Georgia State points trimmed its deficit to two points with 5:06 left in the first half. The Panthers were then held scoreless for three minutes as Kentucky extended its advantage with a 13-0 run, capped by Kerr Kriisa’s 3-pointer, giving the Wildcats a 44-29 lead.

Robinson’s dunk pushed Kentucky’s lead to 18 before Nick McMullen cut the Panthers’ halftime deficit to 48-33. Butler led Kentucky with 13 first-half points as the Wildcats shot 19-for-28 (67.9 percent) from the field in the opening half. Nutter led Georgia State with 12 points in the first half.

The Panthers opened the second half with a 20-11 scoring run, including back-to-back buckets by Nutter and McMullen to force a Kentucky timeout with 13:34 left.

With Kentucky leading 61-53, Georgia State’s Clash Peters was called for a flagrant foul for shoving Williams in the back. In the ensuing scrimmage, Oweh and Brea were called for technical fouls, while Nutter also picked up one for Georgia State.

From there, Kentucky used a 10-3 run to take a 71-56 lead on Oweh’s dunk with 11:23 left. Toneari Lane’s 3-pointer pulled Georgia State within 12 points, but Kentucky pulled away for good with a 20-6 run, punctuated by consecutive triples by Brea and Robinson.

–Field-level media