By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Rob Dillingham scored 23 points off the bench, Tre Mitchell had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 6 Kentucky beat Missouri 90-77 on Tuesday night for its sixth consecutive victory.
The Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) led for all but a minute and stayed safely ahead thanks to key baskets that provided breathing room every time the Tigers crept within several possessions after halftime. Missouri got within seven three times with less than 10 minutes remaining, but Antonio Reeves answered with a jumper and thunderous dunk before Aaron Bradshaw threw down another.
Missouri (8-7, 0-2) never got closer than nine after that, missing 14 of its final 15 shots while Kentucky made 13 of 20.
Mitchell scored eight of Kentucky’s first 10 points before Dillingham entered to score 11 before halftime and hit all three attempts from long range. He was 6 of 7 overall with 8-of-10 shooting from the line. The Wildcats were outshot most of the night before going 6 of 8 during one late stretch.
Mitchell finished with his second consecutive double-double and third in four games, while D.J. Wagner had 16 points and Reeves scored 14.
Noah Carter had 20 points, Sean East II added 19 and Tamar Bates scored 18 for the Tigers, who lost for the fifth time in six games and fell to 0-9 at Rupp Arena. They had hoped to rebound from losing Saturday’s SEC opener against Georgia and beat the Wildcats for the second consecutive season.
BIG PICTURE
Missouri shot above 50% most of the game and actually got to the foul line more often than usual (17 of 22) to stay within reach of Kentucky. Their defense kept the Wildcats from breaking it open but they couldn’t overcome that cold stretch.
Kentucky regrouped from being outrebounded the past two games to dominate Mizzou 42-27 on the glass. Dillingham and Reed Sheppard provided energy off the bench to key a 26-10 advantage over the Tigers’ reserves.
UP NEXT
Missouri hosts South Carolina on Saturday.
Kentucky visits Texas A&M on Saturday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
