No. 8 Kentucky had seven players in double figures and the Cats used a big second half to beat Georgia State 105-76 on Friday night at Rupp Arena.

Jaxson Robinson led Kentucky with 19 points, while Lamont Butler had 17 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Amari Williams scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Ansley Almonor and Otega Oweh each scored 12 points. Both Koby Brea and Andrew Carr scored 10 points for the Cats.

It was the first time since March 2 of last year that Kentucky placed seven players in double figures in scoring. UK coach Mark Pope liked how his team responded to tough times.

“I thought our guys responded great,” Pope said. “As things got a little more intense, I thought our guys pulled together.”

Georgia State scored the first three points of the game before a Butler layup got the Cats on the board. A pair of Jaxson Robinson runners in the lane gave UK a 6-3 lead.

The Panthers would cut into the UK lead, eventually getting within one, 11-10. But a layups by Robinson and Butler and an Ansley Almonor three gave the Cats an 18-10 lead with 12:30 left in the first half. A Kerr Kriisa basket capped the 9-0 run and gave Kentucky a 20-10 advantage.

Georgia State again fought back, this time with a 10-4 stretch that cut the UK lead to 24-20. An Andrew Carr three made it 27-20, but GSU scored nine of the next 13 points to get within two, 31-29.

An Almonor three, one that gave the Cats a 34-29 lead, seemed to spark UK. Carr made a basket in the lane and the subsequent free throw to make it 37-29 and an Otega Oweh fast break dunk made it 39-29 Cats with 3:51 left in the half.

The run continued with a pair of Oweh free throws and a Kriisa three. In total, it was a 13-0 stretch that gave Kentucky a 44-29 advantage. The Cats would lead 48-33 at the half. Butler led all scorers with 13 points in the first 20 minutes.

Georgia State came out hot in the second half, making four of its first five from three-point range. In the process, the Panthers were able to get within 10 points, 57-47.

Kentucky would get an Oweh layup to lead 59-47 before Georgia State scored six in a row, getting within 59-53 with 13:34 remaining. After a UK timeout, Oweh made a basket to stop the GSU run, and Amari Williams made four consecutive free throws to give UK a 65-53 lead. That was the start of a 12-3 run that extended the UK lead to 71-56 with 11:23 to play.

That run would be part of a larger UK run, a 26-11 stretch, that made it 85-64 with 7:07 remaining. The Cats would continue to extend the lead, going ahead by as many as 35 before settling for a 29-point win.

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday night, visiting Clemson for the SEC/ACC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 9:30 ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.