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(Photo by Tonia Witt) 11-26-25
Everybody eats on Thanksgiving Eve. The ‘Cats came alive in the second half to finish a 50-point win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles led by former Unforgettable ‘Cat John Pelphrey. The first half of the game began very slow for Kentucky, who found themselves even trailing midway through the half. Coach Pope finally found a lineup that found a rhythm and grew the first half lead to 15-points at the half. 
The ‘Cats caught fire in the second half, nailing 12 second half three-pointers on their way to a 61-point half. Walker Horn and Zach Tow both scored their first points of the season late in the second half to energize the good ‘Cats crowd at Rupp Arena on Thanksgiving Eve. Every player that saw minutes scored for the ‘Cats (11 players). Kentucky, as a team, shot a scorching 70% from the field in the second half. Trent Noah finished with a career-high 16-points to go along with 6 rebounds in just 21-minutes of action. Aberdeen and Oweh both also contributed 16-points each in the game to tie the team-high individual scoring totals. Moreno finished with 13-points and 11-rebounds in the game, leading the team in rebounds. Kentucky will look to ride their hot second half into next week as they take on the undefeated North Carolina Tar Heels in Lexington for the SEC-ACC challenge. Overall, Wednesday night served as a positive, feel-good game for Kentucky as they head into a more challenging stretch in their non-conference schedule next week.
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Otega Oweh, Kam Williams, and Malachi Moreno.
The spread for Wednesday nights game was -37.5 (Kentucky) and the Over/Under was set at 157.5.
Game Recap:
First Half
The ‘Cats won the tip and found Chandler for an open three that bounced off the rim and out of bounds. The Golden Eagles scored first on a mid-range jumper around the free-throw line. Chandler was beat off the dribble by Owens for another score after the ‘Cats got off to an 0 for 3 start from the field. Moreno found Williams for an easy layup for the ‘Cats first points of the game. Chandler then threw it away on a Kentucky fast break. Aberdeen drove to the rim and scored to tie the game at 4 apiece. Chandler missed an open three but Moreno collected the offensive board and was fouled on a putback attempt. Jasper Johnson was the first player off the bench for the ‘Cats. Moreno hit both free-throws. Johnson drove to the pain and found a cutting Oweh for a alley-oop slam. The Golden Eagles tied the game at 8 with back-to-back field goals. Chandler cut to the basket from the corner to throw down a powerful dunk over the Tech defender. The Golden Eagles responded with a three to give Tennessee Tech a 11-10 lead at the first media timeout with 14:20-minutes to play in the first half. Johnson and the ‘Cats settled for a contested three on the next possession. Jelavic found Noah for a three in transition to give Kentucky a 13-11 lead. Noah was fouled on an inbounds drive to the basket and hit both free-throws. The ‘Cats led 15-14 with 11:35-minutes to play. Tennessee Tech took the lead after a putback dunk and then a steal off an Oweh turnover. Garrison missed a short layup but got his own rebound and scored to make the score 18-17 Golden Eagles. Aberdeen stole the ball and scored in transition to give Kentucky the lead. The Golden Eagles nailed a three and another score to give them a 23-19 lead. Aberdeen found a open Garrison for an easy score. Moreno followed a Aberdeen miss with a score to tie the game at 23. Oweh answered a Golden Eagles score with a layup to make the score 25 all with 7:07-minutes to play. Aberdeen missed a spot up three for the ‘Cats. Chandler drove to the rim and scored through contact for the ‘Cats lead. Chandler found Noah for a wide-open corner three that splashed for Kentucky. Noah connected on a no-look pass to Chandler for an easy score to push the ‘Cats lead to 32-25. Chandler hit a three for the ‘Cats after a questionable foul call against Kentucky. Chandler found Moreno for an easy dunk. Moreno fond a wide-open Johnson for another easy score. Noah collected an offensive rebound and scored on a putback to give Kentucky a 41-26 lead. Garrison missed a wide-open layup to the displeasure of the Kentucky crowd to end the last possession of the half for the ‘Cats. Kentucky led 43-28 at halftime.
The ’Cats finished the half on a 20-3 run and shot 50% from the field in the half. Kentucky shot 23% (3 of 13 3PT) from beyond the arc in the half. The ‘Cats were led on offense by Trent Noah with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Chandler added 9 first half points and Moreno led the front court with 6 points and 8 rebounds in the half. The Golden Eagles shot just 34% from the field and 13% (2 of 16) from the three-point line. The ‘Cats will look to keep their late half momentum going into the second half. A lineup of Chandler, Noah, Johnson, Williams and Moreno sparked the ‘Cats in the half and allowed them to stretch their lead to 15. Garrison and Oweh continue to be disappointing to this point in the season for Kentucky.
Halftime: Kentucky 43 – Tennessee Tech 28
Second Half
Aberdeen answered an early half bucket from the Golden Eagles with a deep three. The ‘Cats found a driving and cutting Oweh for a slam down the lane. Williams and Aberdeen collected offensive rebounds and found Chandler for a open corner three that he connected to push the Kentucky lead to 51-30 with 18:27-minutes to play in the game. The ‘Cats held strong on the next defensive possession. Moreno hit two free-throws after a foul. Oweh hit two free-throws then stole a pass for an easy transition slam. Oweh then spotted up a defender and nailed a corner three for 7 straight points for the ‘Cats. The ‘Cats led 60-35 at the first media timeout of the half. Oweh found an open Noah for another three from the kid from Harlan, giving him 13 points in the game. Johnson took his defender off the dribble and scored on a runner. Oweh drove to the rim and was fouled with an added score. The ‘Cats led 67-37 at the under 12-minute media timeout. Johnson stepped his way to another easy score at the rim. Jelavic nailed a three at the top of the key. Moreno collected a Oweh miss and was fouled on the putback. He hit 1 of 2 at the line. Moreno slammed home a Chandler missed layup for another score. The ‘Cats led 76-44 at the under 8-minute media timeout. Aberdeen nailed a three in rhythm. Williams then found Moreno for an easy slam. Chandler found Aberdeen again who hit another three for the ‘Cats. Chandler spun his way to an off balance layup. Aberdeen nailed a third consecutive three in the corner. Kentucky led 89-46 with 3:49-minutes to play. Johnson put a move on a defender and nailed a step-back three at the top of the key. Jelavic found Noah for another three for the ’Cats. Jelavic found Williams who nailed a deep three, his first of the game. Horn and Tow entered for Kentucky with a 100-54 lead. Horn nailed an off balance deep three with 0.8 seconds remaining on the shot clock as the crowd and bench exploded with cheers. Tow was fouled on a mid-range jumper and hit 1 of 2 from the free-throw line. Kentucky went on to win by a score of 104-54.
Final: Kentucky 104 – Tennessee Tech 54
Game Stats:
Tennessee Tech FG %: 33% (21% 3PT – 6 of 28) (40% FT – 2 of 5)
Kentucky FG %: 59% (50% 3PT – 15 of 30) (85% FT – 11 of 13)
Rebounds: 48 – 27 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 27:10
Turnovers: UK (10), Tennessee Tech (11)
Bench Points: 38 – 29 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 18 – 8 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 27 – 10 Kentucky
Paint Points: 48 – 24 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Otega Oweh – [(16 points) (2 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 steals)]
Denzel Aberdeen – [(16 points) (2 rebounds) (4 assists) (3 steals)]
Trent Noah – [(16 points) (6 rebounds) (1 assist)]
Collin Chandler – [(14 points) (5 rebounds) (5 assists) (1 steal)]
Malachi Moreno – [(13 points) (11 rebounds) (3 assists) (2 blocks) (1 steal)]
Jasper Johnson – [(9 points) (2 rebounds) (4 assists)]
Kam Williams – [(7 points) (5 rebounds) (2 assists) (1 block)]
Andrija Jelavic – [(5 points) (10 rebounds) (3 assists)]
Brandon Garrison – [(4 points) (4 rebounds) (2 assists) (1 block) (2 steals)]
Walker Horn – [(3 points)]
Zach Tow – [(1 point)]
Next Game:
The No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats (5-2, 0-0 SEC) will return to Rupp Arena for the renewal of a historic rivalry when they take on the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels (6-0) on Tuesday, December 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
