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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Kentucky 56, Columbia 46
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials: # Tony Henderson, # Antinio Petty, # Olandis Poole
Attendance: 22112

No. 1 Kentucky 56, Columbia 46: Aaron Harrison scored 14 points as the sluggish Wildcats scuffled their way to a home victory over the upset-minded Lions.

Willie Cauley-Stein posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky (10-0), which looked nothing like the team that defeated Kansas by 32, Providence by 20 and Texas by 12. The Wildcats trailed the entire first half and a good portion of the second half and finished with poor shooting percentages from the field (36.7), the arc (2-of-17) and the foul line (10-of-17).

Columbia (5-3) also shot poorly from the field and only attempted four foul shots, but it was second-chance points - Kentucky had more offensive rebounds (21) than Columbia had defensive rebounds (19) - that proved to be the Lions' downfall. Maodo Lo scored 16 points to pace Columbia, while Kyle Castlin chipped in eight.

Columbia punched Kentucky in the mouth right off the opening tip, jumping out to an 11-0 lead as the Wildcats missed seven straight shots and committed three turnovers in the first five minutes. The Wildcats chipped away at the deficit throughout the half but still trailed 25-23 at the break and did not take their first lead of the game until 13:18 remained in the contest.

Lo knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the Lions within 38-37 with just under 12 minutes left before Kentucky finally took control, scoring 18 of the next 22 points, including six points by Cauley-Stein and four by Harrison. The Wildcats held the Lions to one field goal over approximately 8 1/2 minutes down the stretch to close out the victory

GAME NOTEBOOK: Only one of the Wildcats' 10 opponents this season has scored more than 52 points. On the other hand, this marked the third time in four games that Kentucky failed to score more than 63. ... Kentucky freshman F Karl-Anthony Towns, who had scored in double figures in each of the four previous games, was held to six points on 3-of-8 shooting. ... Wildcats G Andrew Harrison was 1-of-12, including 0-of-5 from long range.
Top Game Performances
 
Columbia   Kentucky
Maodo Lo 16 Scoring Aaron Harrison 14
Cory Osetkowski 3 Assists Aaron Harrison 3
Maodo Lo 7 Rebounds Willie Cauley-Stein 10
Kyle Castlin 2 Free Throws Made Willie Cauley-Stein 2
Maodo Lo 3 Steals Aaron Harrison 3
Cory Osetkowski 2 Blocks Karl-Anthony Towns 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Columbia 46 37.5 8-25 2-4 6 24 2 3 10
Kentucky 56 36.7 2-17 10-17 11 36 6 6 4