No. 19 Kentucky Creeps Past Bellarmine 60-41 in Bland Performance
Kentucky's Thanksgiving hangover extended a few extra days, as the Wildcats sleepwalked to a 60-41 win over a game Bellarmine team.
It was a tale of two halves for the No. 19 Cats. 56.5 percent shooting in the second half halted a very realistic upset attempt from the Knights out of Louisville. Antonio Reeves led Kentucky with 18 points, 14 of which came in the second half.
"That's a hard game to play, we got guys cramping up in there," UK head coach John Calipari said post-game.
The Wildcats (5-2) held Bellarmine (2-6) to just 14 made shots in what was an ugly performance offensively for both sides. Jacob Toppin added 12 points and five rebounds, CJ fredrick scored 11 while Oscar Tshiebwe provided eight points and 12 boards.
Sahvir Wheeler was a mixed bag, compiling six points, six assists and four rebounds, while also giving the ball away six times.
Curt Hopf led the Knights with 15 points thanks to five 3-pointers.
Entering the break, the teams were tied at 21, with neither team making 10 field goals. The Cats had nine turnovers to six assists, while the Knights took shot after shot that had nearly zero chance of finding the basket.
"I thought we passed up shots in the first half," Calipari noted.
Tshiebwe led Kentucky with six points and six boards through 20 minutes. Wheeler provided just three points and three turnovers, while Fredrick and Reeves combined for seven points on 3-12 shooting.
As a result, Calipari felt the need to switch up the game plan and try to grind down the hard-nosed Knights.
"First half, we had turnovers, not enough movement, so we went to grinding at stuff," Calipari said. "We were grinding it out, which there's some games you gotta do it."
Bellarmine built a quick lead early in the second half via a trio of 3-pointers, two of which came via Hopf. At the under 16 timeout, the Knights led 32-28.
Battling through turnover after turnover, Kentucky regained the lead via a pair of Fredrick free throws at the 12:15 mark. Somehow, someway, the Wildcats managed to hold on to that lead for the remainder of the game.
"It shows what type of team we are," Toppin said after the win. "There's gonna be games like this and we got to figure out ways to win the game, and we did today. The first half was a little sluggish but we came back in the second half and we also grind out the game, we just knew that was the type of game it was going to be."
Fredrick smashed his second and third 3-pointers of the night in back-to-back possessions to extend Kentucky's lead to seven. Toppin followed with two consecutive layups to build the Wildcat lead to double-digits for the first time all game.
The Cats amassed a 23-3 run over eight minutes of game time to finally create necessary separation, building the lead to 51-35 with less than six minutes to go in the game.
Bellarmine continued to find no answer down the stretch as Kentucky finally found some energy to lean on. The Knights made just seven shots in the second half at a 31 percent clip.
"These games, it just helps us build on the defensive and offensive end, that's what we're looking for," Reeves said. "As a team, we all locked in together and told ourselves that we would be out there...just competing and talking."
The game finished on a sour note, as Wheeler left the game with less than three minutes to go due to what appeared to be cramping. He limped toward the bench seemingly in a bit of pain.
As it continues to look for answers, Kentucky will return to the floor in a different continent on Sunday, Dec. 4, taking on the Michigan Wolverines in London in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
"It'll be a great experience for these kids, really hard game," Calipari said of Michigan. "We better not play how we started this game."
Tip-off between the Wildcats and Wolverines is set for 1 p.m. EST and will air on ABC.
Wildcats Today will have more to come on the victory from Rupp Arena.
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