No. 16 Kentucky 85, Mississippi State 63: Freshman guard James Young tied his career highs with 26 points, 10 rebounds and two steals and set a personal best with five assists as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half to defeat the visiting Bulldogs in the SEC opener for both teams.

Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress each contributed 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for Kentucky (11-3, 1-0), which dominated the second-half scoring, 48-23, in its first game since Dec. 28. Julius Randle, the Wildcats' leading scorer and rebounder, was limited to a career-low eight points, though he did grab 14 rebounds.

Craig Sword scored 19 points to pace Mississippi State (10-4, 0-1), which still needs one more victory to surpass last season's win total. Trivante Bloodman added 13 points while Gavin Ware had 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State jumped out to a 10-2 lead before Kentucky caught up at 20-20 on Young's dunk, although Sword made four late free throws to help the Bulldogs take a 40-37 lead to the break. Young scored 15 points in the first half and began the second half with two foul shots to help the Wildcats open the stanza with a 17-7 run.

That run included four consecutive points by Cauley-Stein, followed by four straight by Aaron Harrison and then six in a row by Dakari Johnson as Kentucky opened a 54-47 advantage. The Bulldogs scored the next four points, but Andrew Harrison answered with a 3-pointer and Poythress had a dunk as the Wildcats went on a 20-3 run - highlighted by four Poythress dunks - and cruised down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: After scoring a total of three points in Mississippi State's last game, Sword scored 12 first-half points in this one. ... Young shot 8-of-18 from the field while none of his teammates attempted more than seven shots. ... Kentucky dominated the glass, 44-28.