41-10 Over 13 Minutes Sends No. 23 Kentucky Past Manhattan 85-57 Behind Milan Momcilovic's 24
No. 23 Kentucky beat Manhattan 85-57 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena after outscoring the Jaspers 41-10 over the final 13 minutes of the first half.
Photo: Kentucky Athletics. Official roster headshot of Milan Momcilovic, forward, Kentucky men's basketball, 2026-27 season.
No. 23 Kentucky beat Manhattan 85-57 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena after outscoring the Jaspers 41-10 over the final 13 minutes of the first half. Milan Momcilovic led the Wildcats with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, in his Kentucky debut. Kentucky led 48-22 at halftime.
Momcilovic, an Iowa State transfer, played 29 minutes and added five rebounds, per ESPN's box score. His 24 points are the fifth-most by a Kentucky player in his first game with the program, per Kentucky Athletics. His six 3-pointers tied Antonio Reeves for the most by a Wildcat in a season opener and in a Kentucky debut.
Zoom Diallo scored 12 in his first Kentucky game. Alex Wilkins had 11 points, five assists and seven steals. Malachi Moreno posted eight points and 10 rebounds.
Down 13-9, then a 25-3 run
Manhattan started better. The Jaspers led 9-4 and then 12-7 on a Ben Pearce 3-pointer at 13:37, per the play-by-play.
From that 12-7 deficit, Kentucky outscored Manhattan 41-10 the rest of the half, by our count. That matches the Associated Press, which put the stretch at the final 13 minutes.
Trailing 13-9, Kentucky scored 13 straight points between 12:04 and 9:31, by our count. Wilkins hit a 3, then Justin McBride and Mason Williams hit 3s on consecutive trips. The reserves sparked the 13-0 run, per the AP.
Kentucky stretched that burst to 25-3, from 13-9 down to 34-16 at 6:03, by our count. The Wildcats made seven straight field goals in the stretch, five of them 3-pointers, per Kentucky Athletics.
Manhattan then went 4 minutes and 34 seconds without a field goal late in the half, from 5:40 to 1:06, by our count. Momcilovic hit three 3-pointers during the decisive run and had 11 points at the break.
The second half
The second half finished 37-35. Kentucky's largest lead was 39, at 83-44 with about five minutes left, per Kentucky Athletics. Manhattan scored the game's final seven points.
Full-game numbers, per ESPN's box score:
| Category | Kentucky | Manhattan | | --- | --- | --- | | Field goals | 32-60 (53.3%) | 19-54 (35.2%) | | 3-pointers | 12-31 | 7-26 | | Free throws | 9-11 | 12-23 | | Rebounds | 40 | 26 | | Assists | 20 | 7 | | Fast-break points | 19 | 7 |
Kentucky's 12 made 3-pointers are its most in a season opener since it hit 13 against East Tennessee State on Nov. 12, 2010, per Kentucky Athletics. Thirty-six of Kentucky's 85 points came from deep, by our count.
Manhattan missed 11 of its 23 free throws. Its 7-of-26 night from 3-point range was 26.9%. Novak Manojlovic and Kevin Kearney led the Jaspers with 11 points each, and Kearney scored nine of his after halftime, by our count.
Wilkins and the history
Wilkins' seven steals are the most ever by a Wildcat in his Kentucky debut, per Kentucky Athletics. He finished one short of the school single-game record of eight, held by four players.
Kentucky has now won five straight season openers and is 103-21 all-time in openers, per Kentucky Athletics. It is 18-0 under Mark Pope when holding an opponent to 66 points or fewer.
Pope has won nine straight openers as a head coach, per Kentucky Athletics. He and Adolph Rupp are the only Kentucky coaches to win each of their first three openers by at least 26 points.
This was the first meeting between the two programs. The crowd was 19,304.
Kentucky entered the season No. 23 in the AP Top 25. It hosts James Madison on Friday. Manhattan hosts Albany on Friday.
Sources:
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