Mark Edward Pope says the kentucky basketball will make a pitch for AJ Dybantsa. “We’ll certainly try.”

LEXINGTON — Two stretches, both seven minutes in length (give or take a few seconds each way), saved Kentucky basketball on Wednesday.

The first: The Wildcats scored the contest’s first 17 points. The second: In the second half, they ripped off a 17-2 run just before the 15-minute mark that ended with 7:33 to play.

In between those two stretches, Colgate outscored UK by 21 points, 65-44.

In the end, No. 5 Kentucky pulled away for a 78-67 win at Rupp Arena.

But the 11-point victory wasn’t nearly as decisive as expected. Not when the Wildcats (9-1) jumped to a 17-0 lead. And not when the Raiders (2-9) came in as 30 ½-point underdogs, entering on a four-game losing streak.

Even Kentucky coach Mark Pope admitted something was off Wednesday.

“We had some weird energy,” Pope said during the opening statement of his postgame news conference. “There was all kinds of weirdness. The 17-0 (start to the game) was a little weird. I think it made it weirder. And then we got weird, but our guys rang the bell the way that they do.”

Pope described his program as one constantly monitoring players’ energy. He and his coaching staff try to manage, and harness, that energy as best as they can. So, the massive swings in momentum — and emotion — Wednesday were discussion points during the game. And afterward in the winning locker room.

“Why the energy kind of got off? I don’t know if it was because of the 17-0 (start). Maybe was because (Colgate) made some really good shots,” Pope said. “Maybe there was a little fatigue. Maybe it’s the rotation difference.”