LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was Senior night for Kentucky but freshman Rob Dillingham took center stage by scoring a team-high 23 points in the Wildcats 93-77 win over Vanderbilt.
Kareem Watkins got the start alongside his brother, D.J. Wagner and fellow seniors Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell. He was able to get an early rebound before he was substituted out of the game.
It was a bit of a slow start offensively in the game—especially for a UK team. Through the first eight minutes the game was tied at 6-6. Vanderbilt shot 53% in the first half to maintain a lead over the Wildcats for the majority of the first half.
Kentucky started the half hitting just 2-of-12 three pointers. Then, Reed Sheppard hit a trey followed by Rob Dillingham going back-to-back. That included one that was several feet behind the three point line and the Wildcats pushed their lead to 42-38 with :28 left in the first.
Vanderbilt got a dunk from Tyrin Lawrence with :08 left but Kentucky pushed the ball ahead and Reeves buried a deep three, several feet behind the line. The Wildcats would take a 45-40 lead into the break. Dillingham led the way with 12 points, Reeves had 11 and Wagner added 8.
It was another ho hum start to the second half for the offense. That is, until Justin Edwards started to become a factor. The freshman knocked down a three pointer. Shortly after that he knocked a ball away to Sheppard who passed it back to Edwards for a slam. Then, he hit another three to help push the UK lead to 53-47 with 15:39 to play.
From there it became the Rob Dillingham show as he started to show off his entire arsenal. Three pointers, floaters, drives to the basket for lay-ups. That helped Kentucky maintain a 72-60 advantage with 7:08 to go in the game.
Kentucky put the pedal down at the six minute mark hitting 6-of-8 shots that included Reeves finding Zvonimir Ivisic for an alley-oop slam. Then, a Sheppard three followed by a second chance, Wagner three to give Kentucky an 84-65 advantage.
The Wildcats were led by Dillingham's 23. Reeves added 20, Wagner 11 Edwards 10 and Sheppard had 8 to go with a game-high 11 assists.
The Wildcats improve to 22-8 overall, 12-5 in the SEC. Kentucky will wrap up the regular season on Saturday with a trip to Knoxville for a second meeting against Tennessee. The Cats lost the first 103-92 in Rupp Arena.
