Kam Williams has career game as Kentucky knocks off Bellarmine

Kam Williams heated up from deep, knocking down eight 3-pointers en route to a career-high 26 points, Mouhamed Dioubate poured in 20 points and Kentucky went on to a 99-85 victory over Bellarmine on Tuesday afternoon at Rupp Arena.

The Wildcats (9-4) made 16 3s on the day. Along with Williams' career-best eight, Denzel Aberdeen made four and Jasper Johnson three. Aberdeen finished with 14 points while Johnson had 11. Otega Oweh had a solid day with 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Bellarmine (5-7) was led by Jack Karasinski's 24 points. Brian Waddell and Michael Wilson Jr. each finished with 16 points for the Knights.

It was a tighter-than-expected game as Kentucky was favored by 36.5 points. In the first half, there were four lead changes and four ties with both teams shooting better than 50% from the field.

The Wildcats eventually took a 46-38 lead into half, going on a 5-0 spurt in the final minute with a dunk by Oweh and a 3-pointer by Johnson.

The Wildcats scored the first three points of the second half and then had consecutive 3s by Aberdeen and Johnson to take a 60-45 lead with 15:15 left. They later went on a 9-0 run with Williams scoring all of the points in that one-plus minute stretch with three 3s for a 74-56 advantage with just under 11 minutes left.

Williams made three more 3s down the stretch, including a corner trey with just over four minutes left to give Kentucky a 92-76 advantage. He also connected on a long ball with just over two minutes left, putting UK up 97-81. Kentucky is now 2-0 all-time against Bellarmine as it won the first matchup of the series on Nov. 29, 2022 at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky will have a 10-day break before opening Southeastern Conference play at No. 14 Alabama on Jan. 3. Bellarmine will travel to West Georgia for its next game on Jan. 1.