OXFORD, Miss., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Erik Daniels scored a season-high 20 points Saturday as the seventh-ranked Kentucky Wildcats won their 12th straight game with ease, an 80-62 decision over Mississippi.
Kentucky (18-3, 8-0 SEC East) continued its longest winning streak since capturing the final 13 games of the Wildcats' 1998 national championship season. The Wildcats scored the game's first 11 points and took command with stifling defense, a trademark of the 1998 squad.
Mississippi (12-8, 3-6 West) managed just seven baskets in the first half on 26 percent shooting. Justin Reed, the Rebels' leading scorer, missed all six shots in the first 20 minutes.
Gerald Fitch had a pair of layups in the game-opening run and a hook shot by Jules Camara made it 19-4 with 11:45 left in the first half. The Wildcats shot a sizzling 63 percent in building a 44-20 halftime lead.
A pair of free throws by Marquis Estill and a layup by Daniels opened the second half and gave Kentucky its largest lead at 48-20. Mississippi got no closer than 17 points thereafter.
Keith Bogans scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half and Fitch added 14 for Kentucky, which has won 89 of 100 meetings with Mississippi. Estill blocked five shots in the first half.
