Kentucky runs Georgia State out of Rupp Arena after skirmish on the court

LEXINGTON, Ky. — What was supposed to be another easy victory for the Kentucky Wildcats turned into an eventful affair inside Rupp Arena on Friday night.

The No. 8-ranked Cats beat Georgia State by a comfortable margin — a 105-76 victory to end a four-game homestand — but the game was delayed by several minutes in the second half following an on-court altercation that featured one Panthers player getting sent off the court and UK coach Mark Pope running onto it to play peacemaker.

The incident came with 12:37 left and the Cats leading 61-53. At that point, Georgia State forward Clash Peters shoved UK center Amari Williams to the floor away from the ball, setting off a series of pushing and shoving that prompted Pope to run onto the court to help separate players.

Peters was given a flagrant foul — but not ejected — and three other players, including UK’s Koby Brea and Otega Oweh, were assessed deadball technical fouls. The Cats went on a 10-3 run immediately after the altercation and had built a 20-point lead five minutes later.

UK guard Jaxson Robinson led seven Wildcats in double figures with 19 points. Lamont Butler added 17 points and six assists.

Kentucky led by only two points with five minutes left in the first half — after struggling with fouls and turnovers in the early going — but blew the game open from there.

Ansley Almonor hit a 3-pointer to start off a 13-0 run, and the Wildcats outscored the Panthers 17-1 over a period of a little more than four minutes just before halftime. UK made seven of its final eight shots of the first half, and the Cats led 48-33 at the break.

Georgia State made its first three 3-point attempts of the second half and narrowed Kentucky’s lead to 59-53 with 13:34 left, but that was as close as the Panthers got.

The Cats were playing without sophomore forward Brandon Garrison, who watched from the sidelines. Pope said Garrison — the team’s top post player off the bench — was held out as a “precaution” and that the former McDonald’s All-American had been experiencing soreness in recent days.

With Garrison sidelined — and starting center Amari Williams in foul trouble for much of the night — Kentucky often went with Andrew Carr at the 5 spot. The veteran forward said after the Cats’ win over Western Kentucky earlier in the week — when he also played some minutes at the 5 — that he was comfortable taking on that role for this team.

“It adds a whole new level offensively, I think, when you have the threat from everybody to shoot the ball,” Carr said. “And it’s a lot of fun to be able to add a new wrinkle into the way the defense has to defend us. They have to think about something else totally different when I’m at the 5. And so I think it is a great asset for us.”

Georgia State (4-4) — coached by former Georgia standout Jonas Hayes — came into the game at No. 220 in the KenPom ratings, and this was the third time in four days that the Panthers had played. They split two games — a loss to Austin Peay and a win over Tulsa — on Tuesday and Wednesday at an event in Jacksonville, Fla.

Kentucky’s next game

The Wildcats will go on the road next, and the upcoming week away from Lexington will bring the first true road game of the Pope era.

UK will face Clemson in the second SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night. The Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight last season — the furthest they’ve ever been in the NCAA Tournament — and took a 6-1 record into Friday night’s game against Florida A&M.

Clemson came into the day at No. 27 in the KenPom ratings — the No. 4 team in the ACC behind Duke, Pittsburgh and North Carolina. Brad Brownell is in his 15th season as the head coach of the Tigers.