National Basketball Association
Kentucky 81, Eastern Michigan 63
When: 4:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Jeff Clark, # Antinio Petty, # C. J. Washington
Attendance:
22721
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 4 Kentucky 81, Eastern Michigan 63: Julius Randle tied a school record by opening the season with his seventh straight double-double as the Wildcats downed the Eagles in the final game of the Keightley Classic.
Randle, who recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds, equaled Jim Andrews' mark set at the start of the 1971-72 campaign. Aaron Harrison added 22 points and Willie Cauley-Stein registered 15 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks in a reserve role for Kentucky (6-1), which improved to 47-6 against opponents from the Mid-American Conference.
Darell Combs led the way with a game-high 23 points off the bench for the Eagles (5-1), who fell to 0-2 all-time against the Wildcats. Daylen Harrison scored nine points, while Karrington Ward grabbed six rebounds for the Eagles, who forced 20 turnovers.
Kentucky led by one midway through the first half before Aaron Harrison keyed a 13-4 run that put the Wildcats on top 29-19. The Eagles quickly trimmed the deficit to three and the Wildcats had to settle for a 35-32 edge at the break after Randle was hampered by foul trouble for the majority of the half.
Randle's first bucket of the game gave Kentucky a six-point lead just over three minutes into the second stanza and the Wildcats extended their advantage to 12 on James Young's free throws midway through the period. Kentucky led by double digits the rest of the way as it recorded its 500th win at Rupp Arena.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kentucky started off 1-of-8 from beyond the arc and finished with three 3-pointers. … Eastern Michigan's bench outscored the Wildcats' reserves 40-29 . … Cauley-Stein registered more blocks (seven) than the entire Eagles team (four), which came in averaging 10 swats a game.
Top Game Performances
| Eastern Michigan |
|
Kentucky |
|
Darell Combs 23 |
Scoring |
Aaron Harrison 22 |
|
Jalen Ross 3 |
Assists |
James Young 4 |
|
DaShonte Riley 6 |
Rebounds |
Julius Randle 10 |
|
Glenn Bryant 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Aaron Harrison 9 |
|
Daylen Harrison 2 |
Steals |
Willie Cauley-Stein 1 |
|
Glenn Bryant 3 |
Blocks |
Willie Cauley-Stein 7 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Eastern Michigan
|
63 |
36.4 |
4-19 |
11-17 |
9 |
26 |
4 |
9 |
13 |
| Kentucky
|
81 |
43.1 |
3-16 |
28-40 |
11 |
48 |
9 |
3 |
20 |