Ed Reinke / AP

John Wall dunks during Kentucky’s 86-73 victory over Long Beach State on Wednesday. Wall scored 19 points for the Wildcats.

Cousins scored five points during the burst and provided a defensive presence around the basket, forcing Long Beach to miss a handful of easy shots and go nearly 3 minutes without a field goal.

Long Beach went to a zone in hopes of saving its legs, but Wall exploited it for a 3-pointer that put Kentucky up 73-62, and Cousins followed with a layup. Darius Miller knocked down an open 3 to make it 78-64 and the Wildcats were finally in the clear.

Patterson added 15 points and 11 rebounds while Bledsoe finished with 11 points and five assists. Anderson and Stephan Gilling led Long Beach with 15 points each while Robinson had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the 49ers.

“We didn’t back down, we battled,” said Long Beach State coach Dan Monson. “They have that inside presence with Patterson and Cousins, a lot of ingredients.”

Calipari said Tuesday he was relieved the run to 2,000 wins was over, and was happy to have a full complement of players after guard DeAndre Liggins worked his way onto the court.

The Wildcats needed that depth in the first half with all the foul trouble, but it still wasn’t pretty. Kentucky managed just 12 points over the final 8 minutes with their top three scorers watching from the sideline.

The game was Long Beach State’s fourth against a ranked opponent. The previous three losses — to West Virginia, Clemson and Texas — were all by at least eight points.

The 49ers didn’t exactly look jet-lagged early. Gilling, who entered the game seventh in the nation in 3-pointers per game, knocked down three in the first half. The toughest may have been a contested shot from the top of the key that banked in just before the shot clock expired.

The magic faded in the second half, as Kentucky’s depth and steady play from Wall kept its remarkable early season run going.

“It was like a heavyweight fighter battling a weight class lower,” Monson said. “They just pounded it inside in the second half and we just didn’t have a physical answer inside to matchup.”

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