LEXINGTON, Ky. -- No one on the Kentucky roster knows how new head coach Mark Pope wants to play better than Jaxson Robinson.

The grad senior guard who migrated from BYU to UK with Pope this spring continued his smooth transition to the Wildcats on Tuesday, knocking down eight of his 12 attempts from the 3-point arc en route to a game-high 24 points in a 98-67 exhibition win over Minnesota State Mankato at Rupp Arena.

"Jaxson has been playing for me this way for a long time, and clearly he's pretty comfortable," Pope said. "Jaxson's not shy at all, is he?"

In Kentucky's two exhibition tune-ups for the approaching college basketball season, Robinson has scored 43 points while shooting 13-of-21 from long range. The eight treys on Tuesday would have set a new career high in a regular-season game and was just one shy of UK's record at Rupp Arena.

“I can't credit my teammates enough," said Robinson, last year's Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year. "They got me open and found shots for me, so it was just good to go out there and hit some open shots.”

Added teammate Andrew Carr: "If he gets going, he’s a killer, man."

Robinson got it going when Kentucky needed a boost late in the first half. Leading the defending Division II national champions by a surprising 22-20 margin, the Cats went on a 21-3 run to close the half.

Kentucky, which opened the game 2-for-13 from the arc, hit six 3-pointers during the spurt, including three by Robinson. The Cats hit 11 of their final 24.

Pope told UK fans to expect some games like that this season.

"We're going to go 2-for-13 in the first nine minutes sometimes from the 3-point line when it is shots that we're earning," he said. "And we're going to keep shooting. It's a beautiful way to play. What BBN is going to learn, OK, this is really hard right now, but it's coming. Suddenly there's a barrage of makes... We train that way, we study that way, we work that way."

Kentucky totaled 28 assists on 37 made baskets and committed only eight turnovers.

“Very difficult," Minnesota State Mankato head coach Matt Margenthaler said of UK's style of play. "... They scored in bunches, and we knew that, but then again, I love the way they played."

In addition to Robinson's big night, Otega Oweh scored 15 points and dished out six assists. Carr followed with 14 points. Brandon Garrison gave UK a fourth player in double-figure scoring with 12 points off the bench.

Lamont Butler had another solid floor game at point guard with six points, five assists, and three steals.

"A man against boys," Margenthaler said of Butler's harassing defensive presence. "... He's a monster."

Kentucky opens the regular season on Nov. 4 at Rupp Arena against Wright State. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.