ATLANTA, Ga. — In a meeting between a national championship coach and player tandem, it was the latter picking up a massive non-conference victory.
Otega Oweh's 20 points helped lift Mark Pope's Wildcats over Rick Pitino and No. 22 St. John's 78-66 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
It was a slow moving game to begin with Jaland Lowe coming off the Wildcats up 3-2. Right before the first media timeout, Jaland Lowe came into the game to replace Denzel Aberdeen. He wasn't in long before he hit his shoulder and immediately went to the locker room. He never returned in the first half.
With 15:01 to go in the first half, Jayden Quaintance came in for the first time and made a quick impact. He only played 4 minutes in the first 20 but had two points on 1-2 shooting, 2 rebounds and a blocked shot. Red Storm coach Rick Pitino also went to a 2-3 zone to help counter his size inside.
SOUND UP to hear these dunks from Jayden Quaintance. pic.twitter.com/yusURjz4Ot
— Keith Farmer (@KeithFarmer18) December 20, 2025
The Wildcats struggled turning the ball over with 11 in the first half that the Red Storm turned into 16 points. And, St. John's lived at the free throw line hitting 11-15 shots from the line.
UK trailed at the break 32-25 with Otega Oweh leading them with nine points.
Malachi Moreno had a strong start to the second half scoring six of the Wildcats first half points after halftime.
Then, Kentucky went on a 14-0 scoring run that included Quaintance scoring on a putback as he was fouled to give the Wildcats a 44-43 lead. Kam Williams extended it with a couple of 3 pointers. And Lowe returned to also score 6.
Kentucky put it away when Quaintance had a couple of rebounds and dunks. The second one gave the Wildcats a 65-53 advantage with 4 minutes to play. He finished his Kentucky debut with ten points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Up next, Kentucky returns home for a early afternoon clash against Bellarmine on Tuesday to round out the 2025 schedule.
