LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky had its toughness challenged by John Calipari after being dominated in the rebound column on Saturday in a loss to Auburn.
The UK boss warned that worse could be coming on Tuesday night as Mississippi State, one of the nation's top rebounding teams, paid a visit to Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats' starting big men, Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery, answered the call, combining for 39 points and 19 rebounds to lead No. 15 Kentucky to an 80-72 win over the Bulldogs.
Richards, a junior center, recorded his 10th double-double of the season by posting a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Montgomery, a sophomore forward, added 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot in one of his best games as a Wildcat.
"EJ was ridiculous," Calipari said. "That's my vision of him. That's what I think he is... The conditioning is starting to pay off. Now, he's got to step on the gas and even go farther."
Montgomery was also the primary defender on Mississippi State's Reggie Perry, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, who was held to just 14 points on a 4-for-16 shooting night from the field.
"It feels good," Montgomery said. "Just my competitive edge, just trying to go out there and compete... Nick is playing really good right now, and I'm just trying to keep up with him."
"Reggie has been playing so good and he was bound to have a bad night," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "I think he got a little sped up because he had a couple bunnies that he missed, and he's got to make those."
Added Howland: "(Kentucky's frontcourt) was really outstanding. They're both really good players. I mean, Richards is one of the most dominant bigs in all of college basketball."
Kentucky (17-5, 7-2 SEC) also got 21 points from sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley, who went 14-for-14 at the free-throw line on a night when the Cats sank 31 of 36 attempts.
The Cats, who never trailed in the game, shot 44.4% (24 of 54) from the field and capitalized on 25 fast-break points.
Mississippi State (14-8, 5-4 SEC) saw its five-game win streak snapped. The Bulldogs were led by DJ Stewart Jr. and Robert Woodard II with 15 points apiece but were held to 36.8% shooting (25 of 68) from the field.
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In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…
THE GOOD:
Kentucky's bigs rose to the challenge after a disappointing performance at Auburn. Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery combined for 39 points and 19 rebounds, and Nate Sestina had a productive game with six points and three rebounds off the bench.
THE BAD:
The Cats looked like they were poised to drop the hammer on the Bulldogs on several occasions but never could really pull away. A 14-point lead was trimmed to six with about four minutes to go.
THE UGLY:
Nate Sestina dislocated his right shoulder late in the second half, a painful accident, but one that was fixed rather quickly by having the trainers pop it back in. Sestina showed his toughness by returning to the game and blocking a shot after the mishap.
GAME BALL:
EJ Montgomery, Kentucky -- Nick Richards wound up with the monster stat line, but we have to honor Montgomery here for arguably the best game of his UK career. The sophomore forward was big on both ends of the floor, especially in the first half, in helping the Cats build a nice lead. His defense on Reggie Perry, who came into the game as the reigning SEC Player of The Week after scoring 51 points in wins over Florida and Tennessee, was a huge factor in the game. Perry scored only 14 points on 4-for-16 shooting from the field against the long Montgomery.
BY THE NUMBERS:
10-1 - Kentucky's record under John Calipari when making one or fewer shots from 3-point range. The Cats were 1-for-10 from the arc on Tuesday.
13-0 - Kentucky's record when Nick Richards grabs at least eight rebounds.
14-for-14 - Immanuel Quickley's night at the free-throw line, tying a UK single-game record held by Louie Dampier, Ramel Bradley, and Jodie Meeks.
22-4 - Mississippi State second-chance points advantage. The Bulldogs won the rebounding column by only a 40-37 margin, though.
25 - Points in the second half by UK's Nick Richards was the fourth-highest in a half during the Calipari era.
54-13 - The Cats' record in "bounce-back" games under Calipari following a loss.
86% - Kentucky at the free-throw line, making 31 of 36.
98-20 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series over Mississippi State, including 14 wins in a row. Calipari has yet to lose to the Bulldogs in his UK career.
20,115 - Attendance at Rupp Arena.
QUOTABLE:
"I may start playing Dontaie (Allen). Came in and said… you know, he went through a workout like with our team, like doing individuals, and I had never seen him go that hard, like ever. I went, "That's who you are now? Are you ready to go?" But what I don't want to do is use his year if I don't intend to play him. I'm not going to play him 30 seconds or a minute and use his year up. I won't do that to the kid. But we are down to two and the rent is due. We could use one more guy." -- UK coach John Calipari on the possibility of freshman wing Dontaie Allen, the reigning Kentucky Mr. Basketball, seeing his first action as a Wildcat coming off a knee injury.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday at Tennessee. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET on CBS. The Volunteers (13-9, 5-4 SEC) are coming off a 69-68 win at Alabama on Tuesday.
