Buoyed by Kam Williams’ 26 points, on a stunning eight for 10 three-point shooting outing, the University of Kentucky defeated their Louisville neighbors, Bellarmine University, 99-85 on Tuesday afternoon, December 23rd. In spite of the fact that the UK students were on Christmas break, Rupp Arena was a near sell-out, as there were 19,706 fans in attendance for the unusual 1:00 p.m. weekday tip-off. Williams finished with shooting 80% from behind the arc and he is now tied with Jamal Murray for UK’s all-time, one game, individual, three-point shooting percentage record. Murray’s feat came in 2016 against Florida.
Senior Otega Oweh, chipped in with 10 points and 10 assists. Otega has now scored in double figures each game this season and his 10 assists was his career high.
“I loved the way Bellarmine played,” UK Coach Mark Pope stated. “I love the way they move and they work hard to get space on the floor. They play hard and play tough and I thought they were terrific.”
Bellarmine looked terrific for most of the first half, especially for being a 35-point underdog. The Knight’s Donovan Hunter tossed in a 25-foot three point shot and Bellarmine trailed only 26-24 with 7:06 to play before UK’s Williams hit another three-point basket to stretch the Wildcats lead to five points. The Knights would keep the game close and found themselves behind 38-41 with 1:11 to go in the first half. However, the Cats’ Jasper Johnson scored with six seconds left, on a three-point shot, and Kentucky set the intermission tally at 46-38. The rest of the way, Bellarmine would not get any closer than the halftime score but to their credit, the Knights biggest deficit of the night was only 16 points (99-83).
Doug Davenport, Bellarmine’s head coach, started his press conference by saying that his team talks continually about gratitude. “To look around and to play in Rupp the day before Christmas Eve, if this isn’t nice I don’t know what is. I was really proud of our effort and I thought our guys represented the university well. The loss was 100% on me. We were going to dare them to shoot the ball from outside and they did and they made them. We did not come here to score 85 and get beat by 14, that was not the goal.”
Bellarmine stayed in some combination of a zone defense during the afternoon. Coach Pope noted that it was important to have a presence with his big men inside and for Williams to be aggressive against the Knights’ defense. Pope joked that he would gladly accept Williams being eight for ten shooting in every game, or at least every other game. Overall, Kentucky shot 59% from the field, going 33 for 56 and 53% (16 for 30) from distance.
Williams was quick to give his teammates a ton of credit for his breakout game. “Having my teammates have the confidence in me just makes me want to play harder. We have a great group of guys,” Williams stated. “Having the crowd into it definitely plays a part. Having a support group (our fans) makes our jobs easier.”
Bellarmine’s Jack Karkasinski, a senior from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had an outstanding game as he poured in 24 points on a six-for-nine shooting night to go along with hitting nine for ten from the foul line. “I just know where to get the right shots. Our guys are really unselfish and that’s part of it too, but I think it’s mostly the confidence my teammates have in me to score the ball,” Karkasinski exclaimed.
The Knights Kenyon Goddin is a graduate of Collins High School, located in Shelbyville. He stated, “I had never played in Rupp. Unfortunately our (high school) team didn’t make the state tournament. You dream of it (playing in Rupp Arena) as a kid. It was a fun time and I’m glad that I experienced it. Onto conference play.”
It is on to Southeastern Conference play for the Knights as well as the Cats. UK’s first conference game will be held Saturday, January 3rd against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Coach Pope admitted that some things did not go right in the non-conference portion of the season. However, he knows that his team has responded well after adverse games. He stated that the confidence the team has gained in the last two games gives him high hopes moving forward. “I can’t wait to get there (SEC games),” Pope said.
Kentucky is now 9-4 on the season and sits just outside the Associated Press’ Top 25. Bellarmine falls to 5-7 for the 2025-2026 campaign. The Knights next game and their first Atlantic Sun Conference game, will be held on New Year’s Day against the West Georgia Wolves.
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