Kentucky, which was without starting point guard Jaland Lowe, got 10 points apiece from Trent Noah and Otega Oweh. Mo Dioubate had eight points and nine rebounds for the Cats.
“We have a long way to go, we have so much work to do but in terms of one night for these guys to actually be in this for each other, that’s going to be the key,” said UK head coach Mark Pope. “We have a chance to be a good team.”
Purdue scored the first points of the game and held an early 5-3 lead before Oweh scored five in a row to give the Cats an 8-5 advantage. The Boilermakers tied the game at eight apiece before UK got layups from Dioubate and Noah to lead by four.
Purdue got a pair of free throws from Braden Smith before Johnson hit a three to extend the UK lead to 15-10. After Purdue cut the deficit to three, Kentucky got a pair of Andria Jelavic free throws and a three from Kam Williams to lead 20-12. However, the Boilermakers answered with an 8-2 run to get within two, 22-20.
Kentucky responded with a 9-1 run, sparked by dunks from Oweh and Brandon Garrison, and took a 31-21 lead with 5:07 left in the half. Purdue would get within seven, 33-26, but Kentucky led 38-30 at the half. Johnson and Oweh each had eight points in the first 20 minutes for the Cats.
In the second half, Purdue started with an 11-6 run to get within three, 44-41. Kentucky would score the next seven, on a three from Noah, two free throws from Denzel Aberdeen and a dunk from Malachi Moreno, to lead 51-41. After a pair of Smith free throws, Williams hit from deep again for the Cats, who took a 54-43 lead with 12:27 to play.
The teams would battle back and forth, and the Cats led 60-50 when both teams went cold. Purdue missed seven shots in a row, but UK was unable to extend the lead due to a scoring drought of more than two minutes. A Jelavic free throw ended the streak and gave the Cats a 61-50 lead with 7:07 remaining.
After two Purdue free throws, Garrison completed a three-point play to give the Cats a 64-52 lead. Garrison scored on a putback the next time down the floor and UK led 66-52. The Cats would lead by as many as 17 points before settling for the 13-point victory.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, hosting Georgetown University at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.