Grady, Tshiebwe help No. 20 Kentucky rout W. Kentucky 95-60

Updated Dec. 22, 2021 8:28 p.m. ET

Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kellan Grady made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 23 points, Oscar Tshiebwe grabbed a Rupp Arena-record 28 rebounds and No. 20 Kentucky used an 18-2 second-half run to blow out Western Kentucky 95-60 on Wednesday night.

TyTy Washington Jr. added 20 points and Jacob Toppin scored 12 as the Wildcats (9-2) routed their second consecutive substitute opponent. The in-state Hilltoppers (8-5) were added Monday after the postponement of Kentucky's scheduled matchup against archrival Louisville because of positive COVID-19 tests within the Cardinals’ program. The Wildcats thumped North Carolina 98-69 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Josh Anderson scored 18 points and Camron Justice had 13 for WKU, which was coming off an 82-72 victory over Louisville.

Kentucky's schedule switch also required adjusting to 7-foot-5 WKU center Jamarion Sharp, which it did behind Grady's outside shooting and Tshiebwe's dominance on the boards.

Grady went 6 of 9 from long range and 7 of 10 overall for his best performance since transferring from Davidson. Tshiebwe scored 14 points and topped his previous Rupp Arena mark of 20 boards against Robert Morris midway through the second half. He flirted with 30 before being pulled with 2:06 remaining as the Wildcats owned the glass 50-27.

Tshiebwe acknowledged several rounds of cheers before sitting down for the final minutes.

WKU pulled to 37-33 early in the second half before Grady scored 11 points during the decisive run that broke open the game. Kentucky made 38 of 68 from the field (56%) and held the 'Toppers to 33% shooting in the first meeting between the schools since its 2012 NCAA championship run.

BIG PICTURE

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers opened both halves strongly but couldn't sustain that intensity with late reactions to Kentucky shots off good ball movement. Cold perimeter shooting also hurt as they missed their first eight 3-point attempts and finished 3 of 20 from behind the arc. Sharp exited midway through the second half and did not return.

Kentucky: Even though Sharp blocked seven Wildcats shots by halftime, they were aggressive inside and finished with 44 points in the paint. Toppin's energy off the bench helped, but shot selection was key as Kentucky worked the ball around Sharp and took mid-range jumpers before he could adjust.

UP NEXT

Western Kentucky visits Southern Mississippi on Dec. 30 in its Conference USA opener.

Kentucky hosts Missouri on Wednesday in its Southeastern Conference opener.

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