LEXINGTON - Kentucky basketball coaches challenged the Wildcat frontcourt after being dominated in a loss at Auburn Saturday.
Against Mississippi State, which entered the game ranked eighth nationally in rebounding margin, sophomore forward EJ Montgomery responded to that challenge with the best performance of his Kentucky career and Nick Richards erupted for 25 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats to an 80-72 victory.
Montgomery did a little bit of everything for Kentucky with 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals, one block and one assist. He drew the defensive assignment on Bulldogs star Reggie Perry for much of the night, helping to hold the projected second-round NBA draft pick to 14 points on 4-of-16 shooting before fouling out.