LEXINGTON, Ky. -- No. 1-ranked Kentucky improved to 5-0 Wednesday afternoon with a 101-70 victory over Cleveland State at Rupp Arena.
With sophomore leader Isaiah Briscoe sidelined by a back injury, the freshman backcourt tandem of Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox took control.
Monk paced Kentucky with 23 points, 19 coming in the first half. He made 8 of 12 field goals en route to tying his career high.
Fox recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists.
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Three other players scored in double figures - freshman forward Bam Adebayo, 14 points; senior guard Mychal Mulder, 13; and freshman forward Wenyen Gabriel, 10.
As a team, Kentucky shot 52.1 percent (38 of 73) and made nine 3-pointers. The Wildcats had 47 rebounds, 25 assists and 13 turnovers.
Sophomore guard Rob Edwards topped Cleveland State (1-3) with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He scored 17 in the first half, matching his per game average. Junior guard Bobby Word added 14.
Cleveland State shot 39.1 percent. The Vikings had 36 rebounds, seven assists and 19 turnovers.
The Wildcats scored the game's first seven points and ran out to a 21-4 lead to put the game out of reach before the afternoon crowd could get settled.
Monk led the opening spurt with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range. Fox added six and senior Derek Willis had five. At that point, Kentucky was shooting 60 percent from the field and had already forced six turnovers in six minutes.
By the 11:30 mark of the first half, Kentucky held at 28-12 advantage and Gabriel had gotten in on the fun. He came off the bench for seven points and three rebounds.
Kentucky held a 56-35 lead at halftime behind 19 points from Monk. The Lepanto, Ark., standout made 7 of 8 shots, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, to go with four assists in just 15 minutes of playing time.
Kentucky returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday against Tennessee-Martin at Rupp Arena before leaving for the Bahamas and a matchup with Arizona State on Monday.
NOTES: With Wednesday's victory, John Calipari moves past Joe B. Hall for most wins by a Kentucky coach in Rupp Arena. Calipari is now 123-4 at Rupp. ... Kentucky has won all five games to start the season by at least 21 points, the first time that's happened since 1948. ... Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk were named SEC Freshman of the Week to start the season. That hasn't happened since UK's John Wall and Eric Bledsoe in 2009.
