James Young – photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com
James Young scored 26 points and the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats rallied from a halftime deficit to beat Mississippi State 85-63 on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats (11-3, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) were playing for the first time since Dec. 28 and started slow offensively, trailing 40-37 at the break. They regrouped to tie the game at 47 with 16:47 remaining before going on a 27-6 run over the next 10:54 for a 74-53 lead.
Kentucky shot 65 percent in the second half to easily win the SEC opener for both schools. Mississippi State (10-4, 0-1) went nearly 9 minutes without a field goal.
Young shot 8 of 18 from the field to lead Kentucky, which made 49 percent overall.
Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress each added 12 points for the Wildcats. Julius Randle grabbed 14 rebounds to go with eight points.
Craig Sword led the Bulldogs with 19 points.
