Hagans, Richards to the Rescue as UK Avoids Upset
Ashton Hagans and Nick Richards knew a lot would be asked of them with Immanuel Quickley and EJ Montgomery out Monday.
They delivered it, and thankfully so. Hagans and Richards’ big nights helped Kentucky dodge a second consecutive upset loss.
Hagans and Richards played a combined 72 minutes as No. 9 Kentucky (3-1) staved off Utah Valley (3-2) in an 82-74 victory at Rupp Arena. UK needed every ounce of production from its two remaining healthy returning veterans.
“Honestly, I don’t really think about the minutes,” Richards said. “I’m just trying to get the win. Whatever I need to do to help my team to get that win, I just have to do it.”
Hagans scored a career-high 26 points, continually attacking the basket as UK struggled to hit from the outside. He scored 18 points after halftime and was the key factor as Kentucky withstood a 3-point barrage by Utah Valley’s TJ Washington that trimmed a 16-point lead to one late in the second half.
“They just gave me the ball,” Hagans said. “I was just trying to attack the basket. If my teammates were open, I would have given it to them, but I had the layups so that’s just what I took.”
Hagans made all 12 of his free-throw attempts to lead the Cats’ 31-of-34 performance from the line as a team. Hagans scored six of UK’s final nine points of the game from the line, including a pair of technical free throws with just under six minutes left.
It was no accident that he was on the line to take them.
“Well, he’s probably going to be in pain tomorrow, but there was never a doubt in my mind who I was putting on that line for those technical,” John Calipari said. “Never. Coaches said, bup, bup, stop. Ashton, you’re shooting.”
Richards, too, was perfect from the line in making 5 of 5, but it’s his shooting elsewhere that caught Calipari’s attention.
“What you’re finding out, Nick, may be not a 3-point shooter, but he may be – are you ready for this, folks? – our best shooter,” Calipari said. “When you get him at 12 feet, he makes those shots.”
Richards made 8 of 11 from the field in posting 21 points to go with 10 rebounds. It was the third double-double of his career and second in his last three games.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on in practice a lot and in my workouts with coaches,” Richards said. “It was just one of those things. I had an open shot. I was just trying to trust the workouts, trust the process, trust the work that I put in with my team and it came through for us.”
Richards might have faltered a bit late when he passed the 30-minute threshold, but his impact was unquestioned. He roamed the back of Utah Valley’s zone, available for lobs. When the lobs weren’t there, it was because Utah Valley was preoccupied with preventing them, thereby creating opportunities for teammates.
“That’s the Nick that we need,” Hagans said. “So he’s just gotta keep on bringing it. Cal just kept telling us to feed him and let him shoot the jumper. He had it and he was knocking it down. He just opened it up for us and he helped us out.”
As vital as Hagans and Richards were for their production, their leadership was just as important to steadying the ship in the wake of last week’s loss to Evansville. Hagans, a week after one of the worst games of his career, was intent on delivering what Calipari is asking of him.
“Last year coming in, I was just trying to figure out my role,” Hagans said. “But this year, just talking with Coach daily, going in his office daily, he’s just letting me know this is my team, just be the leader.”
That leadership will be continue to be counted on this week as UK prepares for games Friday and Sunday against Mount St. Mary’s. The Wildcats might not be coming off a masterpiece, but playing perfectly isn’t the goal right now. Improvement is.
“It doesn’t matter how close the game is or if we beat a team by 30,” Richards said. “We always go back and watch the film to figure out what we’re going to do to get better as a team. We’re just trying to get better as a team.”
