Kentucky Men’s Basketball: Kentucky Cares Classic — Morehead State at Kentucky
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky., Oct. 30, 2017
Attendance: 14,138
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 92, Morehead State 67
- This was the second of Kentucky’s three exhibition games this season.
- Kentucky leads the countable series vs. Morehead State 10-0. This is the first time the teams have played in an exhibition.
- This game was not televised. The last time UK played in a non-televised game was Nov. 14, 2015, vs. New Jersey Tech.
- Kentucky returns to the court Friday, Nov. 3 as the Wildcats play host to Centre in the final exhibition game. The game is at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the SEC Network.
- The regular season tips off Fri. Nov. 10 as UK hosts Utah Valley.
- Morehead State has one more exhibition, Mon. Nov. 6 at home vs. Cincinnati Christian.
Kentucky Cares Classic
- This special exhibition game was created to benefit Team Rubicon, which is assisting with people in the United States, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico whose lives have been affected by the recent natural disasters.
- Tonight’s game collected $448,220 in ticket revenue.
First-Half Facts
- Kentucky’s starting lineup featured Hamidou Diallo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PJ Washington, Wenyen Gabriel and Kevin Knox.
- Morehead State’s Lamontray Harris hit a 3-pointer for the game’s first basket. UK took the lead 8-5 on a 3-pointer by Diallo and the Wildcats led the rest of the way.
- Leading 18-16, UK went on an 11-0 run for a 29-16 lead. .
- The Wildcats eventually stretched the lead to 39-23 before MSU got the final five points of the half. UK led 39-28 at intermission.
Second-Half Story
- MSU steadily chipped away, getting as close as 51-49 with 12:34 remaining.
- Ahead 54-51, UK created cushion with a 12-0 run for a 66-51 advantage.
- The Wildcats led by double digits the rest of the way en route to a 92-67 victory.
Team Notes
- Kentucky took advantage of 26 MSU turnovers for a 30-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
- Four Wildcats scored in double figures tonight. Diallo led the way with 23 points and Green had 20.
- Kentucky shot the ball well, 54.5 percent from the field and 81.3 percent at the foul line.
- In UK’s two exhibition games, the Cats have shot 54.8 percent from the field and 77.4 percent at the foul line.
Player Notes
- Hamidou Diallo led all scorers with 23 points, making 8 of 12 from the field.
- Quade Green netted 20 points, including 7 of 7 at the free-throw line. He also played an efficient floor game with five assists, four steals and only one turnover.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 17 points, adding four assists and two steals.
- Kevin Knox rounded out UK’s double-figure scoring with 16 points.