Brooklyn, N.Y. – Hofstra Men's Basketball put a scare into No. 6 Kentucky with a strong first half, but the Wildcats would ultimately leave the Barclays Center unscathed, defeating the Pride, 96-73, on Sunday afternoon. Hofstra's 73 points were the second most Kentucky has allowed in a win this season as the Pride dipped to 6-5 and the Wildcats improved to 9-1.

Three Hofstra players finished in double figures, led by senior Deron Powers with 18 points. Sophomore Justin Wright-Foreman put up 14 off the bench, and junior Rokas Gustys finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Malik Monk led Kentucky with a game-high 20 points as one of four Wildcats to finish in double figures. Isaiah Briscoe was close behind with 19 while also chipping in six assists.

Hofstra battled in the first half, getting as close as three late in the stanza. The first-half board battle was dead even, with both sides pulling down 20 rebounds. Rokas Gustys went 4-for-4 from the field and Deron Powers went 7-for-9 from the free throw line in the opening frame.

After the Wildcats jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, Gustys put in a layup and Powers made a pair of free throws to cut Hofstra's deficit to just one. Gustys then slammed home a pair of dunks to bring it to 10-8 in favor of Kentucky just over five minutes in. With Kentucky pushing the lead, junior Hunter Sabety put up two rebounds, an assist and a dunk in less than a minute, cutting Kentucky's advantage to 24-14 with 10:13 left in the first. Powers then made two more from the foul line and hit a long-range jumper before junior Brian Bernardi went 2-for-2 to the line to make it 27-20 with just under nine minutes left in the opening stanza.

After the Wildcats missed a fast-break try, the Pride cashed in at the other end, with Gustys dropping a layup to once again bring the deficit to seven, 33-26. Powers hit a three from the top of the key to make it a four-point game, but Kentucky quickly answered back with a trey of its own. Powers then headed to the line and made both shots to bring Hofstra back within five. A Ty Greer layup then made it a three-point game, 36-33, with 3:39 left in the first. Five made free throws helped Kentucky push the lead back to double-digits, and a late three put the Wildcats in front, 48-33, at the break.

Kentucky put together an 18-0 run straddling the halves to stake a big lead that the Pride wouldn't again threaten. Bernardi hit a left-wing three and Powers once again made both shot from the stripe for a 67-49 Wildcats lead with 13:27 left. Robinson then hit his second three of the day.

With about six minutes left to play, Wright-Foreman put in a layup in transition to make it 86-58.  Wright-Foreman would finish with 14 points off the bench, including five in the last 1:46 as Hofstra went on a 8-0 run to close the game for the final 96-73 score line.

Hofstra hosts local rival Stony Brook on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.