Kentucky routs Drexel for its 2,000th victory

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s 2,000th victory looked awfully familiar.

DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson scored 18 points apiece and the third-ranked Wildcats became the first team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-win plateau with an 88-44 romp over Drexel on Monday night.

Kentucky improved to 2,000-631-1 in 107 seasons. North Carolina is next on the list with 1,992 wins while Kansas has 1,980.

“We weren’t a part of many of those 2,000 wins and we had a job to do and that was drag us across the line before that other blue team got there,” coach John Calipari said. “This is a special moment for this program and this state.”

The Wildcats did it in style, taking control early behind the play of Cousins, Patterson and superstar freshman John Wall to improve to 12-0.

Samme Givens led Drexel (6-6) with 11 points, but the Dragons shot just 31 percent from the field and spent most of the game as invited guests to Kentucky’s celebration.

It took Kentucky 66 years to reach 1,000 victories. Students celebrated the milestone with cake alongside legendary coach Adolph Rupp at Memorial Coliseum in 1969.

Penn State 76, American University 57

STATE COLLEGE — Talor Battle scored 16 points as Penn State won for the third time in four games, beating American.

The Nittany Lions (8-4) made 12 of their first 15 shots of the second half and finished at 54.9 percent from the field (28-for-51). Chris Babb scored 13 points and Bill Edwards had 12 for Penn State.

WOMEN

No. 8 Duke 75, Maine 34

ORONO, Maine — Karima Christmas and Bridgette Mitchell each scored 16 points and No. 8 Duke cruised past Maine, giving coach Joanne P. McCallie a victory in her return to Alfond Arena.

Duke’s full-court trap forced a season-high 34 turnovers and held Maine (2-7) to 30 percent shooting. The Blue Devils (9-2) pulled away with a 24-4 run in the first half.

No. 16 Michigan St. 67, St. Bonaventure 59

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Allyssa DeHaan scored 18 points and No. 16 Michigan State handed St. Bonaventure its first loss.

Megan Van Tatenhove scored 19 for St. Bonaventure (11-1). Dana Mitchell added 18.

Michigan State scored eight straight points to open a 55-44 lead with 6:30 remaining. DeHaan capped the surge with a jumper.

No. 25 James Madison 85, Longwood 67

HARRISONBURG, Va. — Dawn Evans scored 32 points and had six assists to lead No. 25 James Madison to a win over Longwood.

Evans, a junior point guard and the nation’s second-leading scorer, entered the top 10 on James Madison’s career scoring list.

She scored 19 of her 32 points for the Dukes (8-1) in the first half and shot 9 for 17 from the floor for the game — including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. She also made 10 of 11 free throws.