Jon Hood – photo by Tammie Brown | WildcatWorld.com
Julius Randle scored 16 points, James Young added 11 and No. 18 Kentucky beat Mississippi State 69-59 on Saturday.
Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) has won three straight overall and seven in a row over Mississippi State. The Wildcats had an uneven game on offense but forced the Bulldogs into just 38.3 percent shooting (18 of 47) from the field.
Kentucky coach John Calipari used an unorthodox lineup for much of the game because of ineffective play and foul trouble. Jarrod Polson (30) and Jon Hood (13) both had season highs in minutes played.
The 6-foot-9 Randle was 8 of 13 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Dakari Johnson started for the third time this season and added nine points and eight rebounds.
Craig Sword had 12 points for Mississippi State (13-10, 3-7), which has lost five straight.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
