LEXINGTON, Ky. – In the first ever meeting between the two men's basketball programs, North Carolina Central fell 103-67 at Rupp Arena to Kentucky on Tuesday evening.
The Eagles are now 3-9, still without a road win this season. Kentucky is the only SEC opponent NCCU will face in its non-conference slate, which consisted of three ACC road games and a Big Ten challenge at the end of the month.
Khouri Carvey finished with 15 points, scoring double figures for the ninth time. Gage Lattimore started cold but picked up his scoring in the second half, going for 14 points.
NC Central kept the game close through the first two media timeouts, down by less than five on both occasions. Ramondo Battle II got the start for the first time this season and knocked down a couple of threes, giving the Eagles a spark.
Kentucky extended the lead to 12 until NCCU made back-to-back buckets forcing UK's head coach Mark Pope to call a timeout with 8:08 remaining in the first half.
Coming out of the timeout up 29-21, Kentucky went on a 16-0 run after a made layup by Carvey with 7:19 on the clock. UK utilized the fastbreak after causing turnovers, holding the Eagles without a score for over four minutes as Dionte Johnson's layup stopped the run.
The Wildcats were up 52-31 at halftime. Though NCCU only shot 39 percent in the first 20 minutes, Carvey was 5-of-6 from the field and the only Eagle in double figures with 10.
Kentucky didn't let off the gas pedal and continued to pour into the lead, even though NCCU started hot with four straight field goals early in the second half. The Eagles also got to the free throw line 13 times, making 10. Kentucky only went to the charity stripe five times in the second half.
The Eagles were outscored 27-13 on points off turnovers, 52-30 on paint points and 34-15 on fastbreak points, as the Wildcats shot 61 percent from the field, including a 12-of-29 performance from beyond the arc.
Kentucky moves to 6-4 after a two-game skid. Jasper Johnson and Otega Oweh led the Wildcats, scoring 22 and 21 points, respectively.
The Eagles will have a week before their next contest on Wednesday, Dec. 17. NC Central returns home to host Mid-Atlantic Christian at McDougald-McLendon Arena at 7 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.
