LEXINGTON, Ky. – PJ Washington scored a game-high 25 points and added seven rebounds to help the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats defeat North Dakota, 96-58, from historic Rupp Arena on Wednesday evening in Lexington, Ky.
 
UND (2-1) hung with one of the top teams in the nation for most of the first half, but a 22-4 run to end the opening stanza tilted the contest in favor of the Wildcats as the hosts' athleticism proved to be too much in the victory.

"Well, obviously we're not happy with the outcome of tonight but obviously give Kentucky and the staff a lot of credit," said Head Coach Brian Jones. "We knew were going to come in here and face a tough opportunity for us."
 
Conner Avants reached double figures for the second straight game with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Filip Rebraca became the seventh UND player to cross the 10-point scoring plateau this season with a 13-point, six rebound, three steals, and a block night to help pace the Hawks.
 
Facing one of the rowdiest fan bases and hostile environments in all of college basketball, UND struggled with 20 turnovers that turned into 31 points for Kentucky. The Wildcats also finished with a +30 advantage on the glass with a 45-15 rebounding margin.

"From start to finish, they obviously picked you up full court, just token pressure," said Jones. "They just wore you down, made different ball handlers bring it up to keep you out of your offense. Obviously, I know that was probably a focus of his [Coach Calipari] going into the game after the last game. They said they were getting back to the basics, so I thought they did a tremendous job. They're unique because they can get up and pressure the ball and then funnel you into shot blockers. It's hard to get a team like us, we pride ourselves in being able to get to the rim, and when you get there and you got bodies there being able to erase shots. I thought early in the game we sprayed the ball for probably kick out shots, but as the game wore on, we started shooting ones in the paint, and they were able to block them or just make it more difficult shots, so that's why they've got a chance to be special defensively if they continue to work and grow at it."
 
North Dakota came out attacking to begin the contest, forcing a turnover on the game's opening possession that led to immediate offense. Davids Atelbauers poured in back-to-back triples and Avants scored on a great feed from Walter to give the Fighting Hawks an 8-7 lead.
 
The hot shooting continued through the opening portion of the first half, as UND knocked down six of its first 11 shots, including four of six from deep; however, Kentucky was just as hot from the field as the hosts hit 10 of 13 to take a 27-16 lead with 9:54 remaining in the stanza.
 
After the Hawks had trimmed the deficit down to 17-16, Kentucky embarked on a 22-4 run to spark the crowd and take a 39-20 lead with just five minutes to play in the first half.
 
While UND clamped down on defensive as the half wore on, the Wildcats were able to capitalize on turnovers and free throws to take a 21-point lead, 46-25, into the intermission.

"I thought we started well," stressed Jones. "We got out of the gates well, but as the first half wore on, we weren't able to take care of the basketball and that allowed them to get a little bit of separation and get some easy scores, which we know they've done that pretty well through their two games. When they can rebound and run and turn you over and run, they're pretty hard to beat."
 
After a 7-4 start to the half for the Hawks thanks to four points from Avants, a bucket by Atelbauers, and a converted free throw by Cortez Seales, Kentucky answered with a 7-0 run in under a minute to take its largest lead of the night at the time, 57-32, less than four minutes into the second period.
 
Rebraca became the first UND player to reach double figures at the midway point of the second half before Avants joined the freshman with his second straight game reaching double figures following a 1-for-2 trip to the charity stripe, but Kentucky still led by 30 with just over eight minutes to play.
 
Kentucky held its advantage for the remainder of the contest, never letting the deficit slip lower than 25, as the No. 10 team in the nation walked away with the 96-58 victory.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Saturday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center as the Fighting Hawks host Minnesota Morris at 3 p.m. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports North PLUS.

NOTES: Wednesday marked the first meeting between the programs and the first victory over a team from the state of North Dakota for Kentucky, which gives the Wildcats a win over a team from all 50 states ... UK has now won 45 straight home games over an unranked AP poll nonconference opponent ... Attendance was 18,555, the largest crowd to watch North Dakota in program history.