November 19, 1998
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – It was appropriate that Kentucky walk-on Steve Masiello was featured on the cover of the program for Thursday night’s game against Mercer.
In what could be his biggest dose of playing time this season, Masiello played nearly four minutes as Kentucky cruised to an 82-51 win.
Masiello’s driving layup and subsequent free throw with 3:37 remaining gave Kentucky a 73-40 lead and was one of the few plays that brought a generally quiet Rupp Arena crowd to its feet.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith groused about free throws – the Wildcats were just 11-of-20 from the line – and lack of concentration in the second half, when Kentucky outscored Mercer by only one point. But in the end, there wasn’tmuch to get excited about.
“We haven’t played the caliber of competition we’ll face from here on out,” Smith acknowledged, referring to this week’s easy wins over Eastern Kentucky and Mercer.
The Wildcats led by 30 points at halftime and coasted home from there. Wayne Turner and freshman Jules Camara had 15 points each to lead the Wildcats (2-0).
Turner shot 7-of-11 from the field and hit four long jumpers, including a 3-pointer.
“I was thinking that when I got an open shot to go ahead and take it, to not hesitate,” he said. “There were a few I missed that I should have made.”
Mercer (0-3), which shot only 30 percent from the field in losses to Georgia and Winthrop, struggled again with 32 percent shooting against Kentucky.
Overmatched against the bigger, quicker Wildcats, the Bears repeatedly were forced into taking bad shots or no shot at all – they turned the ball over 21 times.
“I was happy with our effort,” coach Mark Slonaker said. “We had some good looks at the basket and just didn’t convert, but I was encouraged by how we stuck with it and ran our offense.”
Kentucky led 49-19 at halftime, and the second-half highlights were provided by Masiello and the Wildcats’ freshmen.
The Wildcats scored their final points with 19.2 seconds left on a lob from Masiello to a high-flying Camara. The 6-foot-11 forward from Senegal, who grabbed eight rebounds, slammed it home, bringing the few remaining fans to their feet a final time.
In his first college game, Camara had 10 points and 11 rebounds against Eastern Kentucky. Terry Lawyer and Earnest Brown each scored eight points for Mercer, and MarkAdamson grabbed 11 rebounds.
Michael Bradley scored 12 points and Heshimu Evans had 11 for Kentucky, which played without Jamaal Magloire, Ryan Hogan and Myron Anthony. All three players finished serving suspensions for offseason misdeeds.
Kentucky guard Saul Smith, son of the team’s coach, continued to struggle on offense. Two nights after going 0-for-5 from the field against Eastern Kentucky, Smith took just two shots in 19 minutes, though he did hand out fiveassists.
Tubby Smith said after the game that his son’s start at shooting guard actually was a mistake. The coach said he meant to start freshman Tayshaun Prince, but an assistant submitted the wrong lineup card.
Prince, Camara and Kentucky’s other freshman standout, Desmond Allison, all ended up playing about 20 minutes.
“This is a good time to see how they perform,” Tubby Smith said. “It takes time for them to learn to prepare themselves in the proper manner. This is valuable experience for them.”
The defending NCAA champions extended their winning streak to 15 games.
By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
