Julius Randle – photo by Tammie Brown | WildcatWorld.com
Julius Randle scored a career-high 29 points and led a second-half rally that pushed No. 19 Kentucky past stubborn Belmont 93-80 on Saturday.
A week after a season-worst performance in a loss at North Carolina, the 6-foot-9 freshman forward made all eight shots from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds. More importantly, he asserted himself late in the first half and throughout the second for the Wildcats (9-3), who found themselves in a battle against the team that upset the Tar Heels earlier this season.
Kentucky trailed until the 16:21 mark of the second half and constantly had to fight off challenges from the Bruins (8-5). Aaron Harrison added 23 points for the Wildcats while 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein had 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
The Wildcats finished 32 of 58 from the field (55 percent), outrebounded the Bruins 42-25 and made 26 of 36 free throws.
