Kentucky Welcomes Lamar on Sunday
Less than 48 hours after beating Mount St. Mary’s, No. 9/10 Kentucky returns to the Rupp Arena court, facing Lamar on Sunday.
In Friday’s 82-62 victory, Kentucky (4-1) got 19 points from Nick Richards and 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from Ashton Hagans. After missing one game due to injury, Immanuel Quickley came off the bench to score 13 points in Friday’s win, while Tyrese Maxey added 11.
Kentucky has now won two games in a row after being upset by Evansville on Nov. 12. The Cats have a balanced scoring attack, with four players averaging double figures in scoring on the season.
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| Kentucky vs. Lamar | ||
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Sun., Nov. 24 – 6 p.m. ET |
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | Stats | LU |
| 4-1 | Record | 4-1 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 77.6 | PPG | 79.6 |
| 62.8 | Opp PPG | 59.2 |
| .460 | FG% | .479 |
| .357 | Opp FG% | .360 |
| 40.0 | RPG | 40.6 |
| .250 | 3PT FG% | .322 |
| .264 | Opp 3PT FG% | .278 |
| .801 | FT% | .631 |
| 12.6 | APG | 14.6 |
| 4.8 | SPG | 12.2 |
| 3.2 | BPG | 6.4 |
Maxey leads the team, averaging 15.0 points per game. The freshman from Garland, Texas, is also second on the team with 13 assists. Richards is second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and first on the team in rebounding (7.2). Quickley averages 13.8 points per contest, while Hagans scores 13.4 points per game and leads the team with 24 assists.
Kentucky is shooting 46.0% (128 of 278) from the floor on the season but hitting just 25.0% (19 of 76) from behind the arc. The Cats have taken advantage of their chances at the free-throw line, making 113 of 141 (80.1%) of their charity tosses.
Lamar is 4-1 on the season, with its only loss coming at Duquesne, 66-56, on Nov. 12. As part of the BBN Classic, the Cardinals have two opponents in common with the Cats. Lamar beat Mount St. Mary’s 76-61 on Nov. 15, and the Cardinals topped Utah Valley 74-68 on Nov. 21.
Forward T.J. Atwood leads Lamar in scoring (18.0 ppg) and is second on the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg). Guard Davion Buster is second on the team in scoring (15.6 ppg) and assists (18). V.J. Holmes points per contest averages 10.0 points per game for the Cardinals.
Tipoff between Kentucky and Lamar is set for 6 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
Big Second Half; Montgomery and Quickley’s Return Spark Cats
Sparked by the return of sophomores Immanuel Quickley and EJ Montgomery, the No. 9/10 Wildcats used a big second half to pull away from Mount St. Mary’s for an 82-62 victory on Friday. Quickley had eight of his 13 second-half points during an 18-3 run that helped put the game away in the second half.
Ashton Hagans had 16 points, including a three-point play during the surge the Wildcats (4-1) needed. Montgomery, who had missed three games with an ankle injury, sank a 3-pointer soon after to provide some breathing room before Kentucky took off. Quickley did all of his damage in the second half, eventually hitting a short jumper before dropping two 3s to make it 59-39, leading Kentucky’s 5-of-10 long-range shooting after the break.
Nick Richards had 11 of his 19 points in the first half, and Tyrese Maxey added 11 for Kentucky, which shot 55% from the field. Damian Chong Qui had 11 points, while Brandon Leftwich, Omar Habwe and Malik Jefferson 10 each for the Mountaineers (1-5), who lost their fourth in a row. Of note …
• Kentucky held Mount St. Mary’s to 62 points.
• UK is 176-7 under Calipari when the opponent scores 63 or less. The Wildcats are 3-0 this season when the opponent scores 63 or less.
• UK limited Mount St. Mary’s to 36.1% shooting.
• The Wildcats are 190-17 under Calipari when the opponent shoots 40% or less. UK is 3-1 this season.
• Kentucky led by as many as 25 points in the game.
• UK is 264-6 under Calipari when leading by at least 10 points during the game.
• UK shot 54.5% from the field, the second game this season shooting 50% or better.
• Kentucky made six 3-pointers, tying the season high, and 40% from long range is a season best.
• UK made 88.9% at the free throw line (16 of 18), the third straight game making at least 80%.
• The Wildcats are shooting 80.1% on the season.
• Kentucky dished a season-high 21 assists while committing a season-low 12 turnovers, the first positive assist-to-TO ratio of the season.
• Hagans had 16 points, a career-high-tying seven boards and dished seven assists.
• He’s made 18 straight from the foul line
• Richards has 19 or more points in three of the five games this season.
• Quickley has scored in double figures in every game he’s played this season after only totaling double figures six times last season.
• Montgomery’s plus-29 in 15 minutes led the team. He contributed seven points and six rebounds.
BBN Showcase
Kentucky’s game vs. Lamar is the third of four consecutive games the Wildcats will play as a part of the BBN Showcase.
The BBN Showcase is a multi-team event. In addition to Sunday’s matchup, UK will play UAB on Friday as part of the event. The Wildcats already defeated Utah Valley and Mount St. Mary’s.
UK will play all four games at Rupp Arena.
Dynamic Hagans Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Ultimately the game of basketball is about who can score the most points, but if John Calipari was to write down some of the most important things that affect a basketball game, scoring would not be near the top of the list.
No player had a bigger impact than Ashton Hagans doing the “other” things a season ago, especially defensively. But in year two in the blue and white, Hagans is doing a little bit of everything to stuff the stat sheet including contributing in a big way on the offensive end.
The reigning Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year remains UK’s best on-ball defender with a team-high eight steals. And although his steals numbers are down, it’s important to note he’s been dealing with a lower-leg injury that has hampered him and he’s not played at 100% yet this season.
That’s not stopped him from finding other ways to affect the game.
Hagans is averaging 13.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He nearly had a triple-double in his latest effort against Mount St. Mary’s on Friday. He logged 16 points, a season-high seven assists and a career-high-tying seven rebounds.
The Cartersville, Georgia, native has boasted double-figure scoring in four of five games, including a career-high 26-point performance in the win over Utah Valley. He’s dished out three or more assists in all five games and has five or more in three of the last four.
Where he’s made the biggest improvement? Reading the defense, taking what he can get and getting to the free-throw line. He’s drained 25 of 28 on the season, good for an 89.3% clip. He’s made 19 straight. He was 12 of 12 from the line against Utah Valley, becoming the first Wildcat to make at least 12 perfectly since Jodie Meeks, who was 14 of 14 at Tennessee on Jan. 13, 2009 (his UK single-game record 54-point night).
