In a game that was surprisingly close most of the way, Kentucky Basketball pulled away from James Madison for an 89-80 win Friday night at Rupp Arena.
Milan Momcilovic scored only five points, but the Cats still got double-digit scoring from five different players to improve to 2-0. And while the game was closer than most expected, it is important to remember it’s still the first week of regular-season play. Look no further than seeing tonight that Purdue fell to Valparaiso or Missouri got beat by
Saint Louis to remember that things are still very much a work in progress.
Next up: The State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago on Tuesday against Kansas.
Highlights
Observations
- 10 Cats scored at least two points.
- Kam Williams made his highly anticipated season debut, greeted by a thunderous standing ovation in his comeback from foot surgery this offseason.
- Five Cats scored in double figures, including Braydon Hawthorne for the first time in his Kentucky career.
- Kentucky is now 28-5 under Mark Pope when making 10+ 3-pointers.
- Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins led Kentucky with 16 points each.
MVP: Justin McBride
Playing against his former team, McBride provided an emotional spark for the Cats on both ends of the floor. McBride scored 13 points, including three triples, and pulled down eight rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. Two of McBride’s 3s came in the second half and sprung Kentucky free of a game that was tight for most of the way.
Box Score
First Half
It was a back-and-forth battle early. Both teams came out and hit multiple 3-pointers. Kentucky got 3s from Milan Momcilovic and Alex Wilkins to take a 10-8 lead in the first 4:07 of the game. The pace was helter-skelter through the first two segments.
With the score tied at 18-18 at 10:32 to play, Kentucky was 7-15 from the field and 3-6 from 3-point range while James Madison was 7-17 from the field and 4-12 from 3-point range. Zoom Diallo got off to a great start, scoring eight points and dishing out two assists. Kentucky, though, let go of a 16-8 lead and allowed James Madison to go on a 10-2 run to tie the game.
The pace stayed at breakneck out of the under-12 timeout. But the difference was Kentucky made more shots than the Dukes, and they took better shots. James Madison had 17 of their 24 shots from 3-point range at the 6:52 mark of the first half. At that same time, Kentucky only had nine of their 22 shots from 3-point range. They made five of those nine 3s for a 30-25 lead.
James Madison just wouldn’t go away, though. They kept hoisting up 3s, making eight of 22 by the 3:50 mark of the first half to pull within a single point, 35-34. The Dukes at that point had nine assists and 12 made field goals.
Both teams went cold down the stretch in the first half, but they still produced enough offense to take the game into halftime tied 39-39. Kentucky was 15-33 from the field and 5-16 from 3-point range, meaning they missed their last seven 3s after starting 5-9 from beyond the arc. James Madison was 14-36 from the field and 9-26 from 3-point range. Kentucky led the rebounding battle 23-19, but they only had six assists to four turnovers. James Madison had 10 assists to just one turnover. Zoom Diallo led the Cats with 10 points.
Alex Wilkins only played five minutes because hs picked up two fouls in that span. He made a 3-pointer and had a rebound in the time he was on the floor in the first half.
Second Half
Diallo picked up right where he left off to start the second half, withstanding multiple shots to the face to get three quick buckets and increase his total to 16 points. Malachi Moreno established his presence inside, getting buckets, pulling down offensive rebounds, and getting to the free-throw line. It was still too close, though, at 50-48 with 15:55 remaining.
James Madison kept up their 3-point shooting to start the second half, taking a 56-54 lead. But that’s when the Cats unleashed an 8-0 run to bring the crowd to life. Mason Williams hit a floater in the paint, and Alex Wilkins and Justin McBride hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wildcats a 62-56 lead with 11:51 to play.
McBride was amped up on the court, given that he played for James Madison prior to coming to Lexington this offseason. He was feeding off the home crowd, and so was the entire Kentucky team. Ousmane N’Diaye followed with a 3 of his own to give Kentucky its largest lead of the night at 65-56.
Kentucky got the lead to 10, and it stayed around 8-10 points for the next few minutes. Even when James Madison cut the lead to 73-68, Kentucky answered with 3-pointers from Mason Williams and McBride to give the Cats their largest lead at 11 points, 79-68.
The Cats closed out the game and finished shooting 50.8 percent from the floor and 10-28 from 3-point range. Kentucky was 15-19 from the free-throw line and had 14 assists to eight turnovers. James Madison made 15 of 45 3-pointers but shot just 39.7 percent from the field overall. They had 19 assists to just seven turnovers, but Kentucky won the rebounding battle 40-36.
Kentucky vs. James Madison Twitter Reactions
It was Friday night, and it’s High School Football Playoff time. But if Kentucky is playing a regular-season basketball game, Big Blue Nation is tuned in. Here are the best Twitter reactions from Big Blue Nation.
