LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — D.J. Wagner scored a career-high 28 points, Antonio Reeves added 23 and No. 16 Kentucky routed Marshall 118-82 on Friday night for its highest-scoring game under John Calipari.
Four nights after getting past Saint Joseph’s 96-88 in overtime, the Wildcats (6-1) shot 26 of 40 in the first half (65%) on the way to a 69-41 lead at the break, their highest-scoring half this season. They led 90-53 with 13:34 remaining, and it was just a matter of when they'd exceed the 115 points scored against Arizona State on Nov. 28, 2016.
Kentucky tied the mark with 2:39 left on Reed Sheppard's 3-pointer and broke it with 40 seconds left on another 3 from the left corner by reserve Joey Hart.
Wagner, who had 13 points at halftime, scored seven in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half and soon surpassed his previous best of 22 against St. Joe's. The freshman guard exited with 3:23 left after hitting 10 of 14 shots from the field, including two 3s, and 6 of 7 free throws.
Reeves made 5 of 7 from behind the arc and 8 of 13 overall. Tre Mitchell added 18 points, Rob Dillingham 16, Sheppard 12 and Justin Edwards 10. Kentucky finished 45 of 74 from the field (61%).
Obinna Anochili-Killen scored 22 points, Nate Martin added 14 and Jacob Conner 13 for the Thundering Herd (2-4), who shot 42% and dropped their fourth of five games.
BIG PICTURE
Marshall: The Herd came out firing from long range and managed to stay close in the early minutes. Several cold spells followed along with a failure to slow Kentucky's transition game and strong shooting, building a deep halftime hole they couldn't overcome.
Kentucky: The Wildcats owned paint scoring 48-28 and shot 16 of 27 from deep. The only blemish was being outrebounded 38-37.
UP NEXT
Marshall hosts Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Kentucky hosts Miami (Florida) on Tuesday night in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.
