Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky vs Buffalo

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• Kentucky is 2-0 and Buffalo is 1-1.
• This was the first meeting between the schools in men's basketball.
• Kentucky has won 20 of the last 22 games as The Associated Press top-ranked team.
  • Coach John Calipari has led three teams to a No. 1 ranking (Massachusetts, Memphis, Kentucky) and has a 64-9 record as the top-ranked coach, including 23-4 at UK.
• Kentucky returns to action with a neutral-site contest on Tuesday as the Wildcats take on Kansas in Indianapolis as part of the Champions Classic. Game time is 9 p.m. and it will be televised by ESPN.

First-Half Facts

• Kentucky's opening lineup featured Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Alex Poythress, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein for the second consecutive game.
• The teams battled closely in the first half with four ties and nine lead changes.
• No more than five points separated the squads during the opening period.
  • UK largest lead was four points at 20-16.
  • Buffalo scored the final six points of the half to take a 38-33 advantage at intermission.

Second-Half Story

• UK started the second half with Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker, Marcus Lee, Trey Lyles and Dakari Johnson and began with a flurry.
  • Lyles hit a 3-pointer on the first possession, followed by his own steal and dunk to tie the game at 38 and force a Buffalo timeout at 19:10.
  • Lyles grabbed a defensive rebound and Ulis converted a 3-pointer.
  • Lyles hit a foul shot to extend the run to 9-0 and make it 42-38 in favor of the Wildcats.
• The Bulls bounced back with five straight points to re-take the lead at 43-42.
• Trailing 45-43, during the final 14 minutes of the game, UK closed the contest with a 28-7 run.
• UK regained the lead for good, 46-45, on a post-up layup by Johnson with 13 minutes remaining.
• Poythress followed with a pair of spectacular dunks and a free throw by Johnson completed an 8-0 spurt and a 51-45 lead.
• Buffalo went more than 10 minutes without a basket, from the 10:45 mark until three seconds remained.

Team Notes

• Kentucky is now 40-0 under Coach Calipari when holding the opponent to 55 or fewer points.
• Kentucky limited Buffalo to 34.8 percent from the field, including 21.1 percent in the second half.
  • UK has held both opponents this season under 35 percent.
• UK dominated the rebounding 45-25, including a pair of double-figure rebounders – Dakari Johnson (12 boards) and Willie Cauley-Stein (10).
• UK won bench points 45-18.
  • UK's top four scorers today all came off the bench – Trey Lyles (12 points), Tyler Ulis (12), Devin Booker (10) and Dakari Johnson (9).

Player Notes

• Trey Lyles and Tyler Ulis led the Wildcats with 12 points each, with Ulis getting his first double-figure game as a Wildcat.
  • Ulis also paced the Cats in assists with six.
• Devin Booker had his first double-figure game as a Cat with 10 points.
• Dakari Johnson had 12 rebounds, one shy of his career high set Friday against Grand Canyon.  It is his third double-figure rebounding game at UK.
  • Johnson had four blocked shots, tying his career best for rejections.
• Willie Cauley-Stein's 10 rebounds represented his 14^th double-figure board game at UK.