Rupp Arena 11-6-26 – Photos by Mont Dawson
The ‘Cats survived a hard-fought battle with the James Madison in Rupp Arena on Friday night by a score of 89-80. The game was tied at 39 at the half with the Dukes shooting well from beyond the arc. James Madison shot an overwhelming 45 three-pointers in the game and connected on 15 attempts. Transfer guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins led the offensive attack for the ‘Cats, contributing 16-points each in the game. James Madison transfer Justin McBride put together a well-rounded stat line of 13-points and 8-rebounds. The ‘Cats took control of the game in the second half, keeping a healthy lead throughout most of the half. It was a solid win for the ‘Cats over the Dukes, who are projected to have a good chance to win the Sun Belt conference. The ‘Cats will look to put it all together next week when they travel to Chicago to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the annual Champions Classic at the United Center. It is the first of five non-conference power five opponents the ‘Cats will face in the non-conference schedule. Pope and the ‘Cats are 1-1 in Pope’s tenure at Kentucky in the Champions Classic with win over Duke and a loss last season to Michigan State.
Pre-Game Overview:
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Ousmane N’Diaye, Milan Momcilovic, and Malachi Moreno.
The spread for Saturday afternoon’s game was –24.5 (Kentucky) and the Over/Under was set at 156.5.
Game Recap:
First Half
Malachi Moreno won the opening tip off and scored in the paint on a putback layup off his own miss for the first points of the game. The Dukes nailed their first three of the game to give James Madison a 3-2 early lead. Zoom Diallo beat his defender off the bounce for a easy score. Sundra hit the Dukes second three of the game to respond. Momcilovic missed his first three attempt of the game. He then responded with a transition three on the next possession. Wilkins peeled off a screen for a top of the key three to give Kentucky a 10-8 lead. The ‘Cats took their 10-8 lead into the first media timeout. McBride checked in against his former team. Williams took a fast break chance down the court and found a cutting Diallo for an and-one score. The ‘Cats led 13-8 after the made free-throw. Diallo then nailed a three to push the lead to 16-8. The Dukes responded with a three of their own in front of the ‘Cats bench. The Dukes responded quickly with a 7-0 run. McBridge scored in transition on a layup at the rim. Jones nailed a corner three to tie the game at 18-18. Moreno was fouled going into the under 12-minute media timeout. Moreno made 1 of 2 at the line. Williams dribbled his way into his first points of the game with a top of the key three. Kam Williams checked into his first game of the season. McBride rose above his defender for a three to give the ‘Cats a 25-19 lead. Sundra nailed a three and was fouled on the shot. Sundra converted the rare 4-point play at the line. McBride drove the lane and was fouled on a layup attempt. McBride made 1 of 2 at the line. Hawthorne hit a floater off a good paint move. Kepnang picked up an offensive board and scored at the rim. Kentucky took a 30-25 lead with 6:52-minutes to play in the half. Moreno took a screen off the dribble and slammed in a dunk. The Dukes nailed another corner three in front of the ‘Cats bench. McBride hit 1 of 2 at the line after a foul. Sundra hit another three for the Dukes. Hawthorne scored off a floater in the paint to make it 35-31 ‘Cats. Meeks hit a three on the other end for the Dukes. The ‘Cats led 35-34 with 3:50-minutes to play in the half. Milan missed an open three in the corner for the ‘Cats out of a good play out of the timeout. The Dukes took the lead on a putback in the paint to make it 36-35 James Madison. Mason Williams scored on a mid-range shot to put the ‘Cats back in front 37-36 with 1:04-minutes to play in the first half. Windham nailed another corner three for the Dukes. Diallo scored on a driving layup at the rim to tie the game at 39-39 at the half.
The ‘Cats shot 45% from the field in the first half and 31% (5 of 16 3PT) from beyond the arc. The Dukes were hitting from three while shooting a very high volume. James Madison shot 39% from the field and 35% (9 of 26 3PT) from three. In the first half the Dukes shot 26 threes against just 10 two-point field goal attempts. The ‘Cats offense was led by Zoom Diallo with 10 first half points followed by James Madison transfer forward Justin McBride with 7-points. The ‘Cats committed 4 turnovers while forcing just 1 turnover for the Dukes. The ‘Cats will look to improve their three-point defense and get a rhythm on offense as they head into the second half of action.
Halftime: Kentucky 39 – James Madison 39
Second Half
The Dukes began with the ball to start the second half. Diallo scored on a mid-range jumper to begin the second half scoring. The Dukes stole the ball from Moreno and Lee nailed a corner three. Moreno was fouled on a dunk attempt. He made 1 of 2 at the line to tie the game at 42-42. Diallo took a screen to the rim for an easy score. Wilkins hesitated in transition and scored at the rim to give Kentucky a 46-42 lead. Diallo went up and under for another score. Moreno put back a Wilkins miss to respond to a Dukes score. The ‘Cats led 50-48 at the under 16-minute media timeout. Fowler nailed a three to give the Dukes a 51-50 lead. Momcilovic scored but the Dukes responded again for the lead. Wilkins hit a mid-range jumper for the ‘Cats. Jones nailed the Dukes 12th three of the game for a 56-54 lead with 13:52-minutes to play in the game. Mason Williams scored to tie the game for Kentucky. Wilkins nailed a corner three for Kentucky to give the ‘Cats at 59-56 lead. N’Diaye intercepted a pass and Hawthorne was fouled in transition. McBridge nailed a three for the ‘Cats. McBride went up for a big rebound and was fouled as the Rupp Arena crowd erupted. The ‘Cats took a 62-56 lead into the under 12-minute media timeout. N’Diaye nailed a deep three for the ‘Cats out of the timeout. The Dukes ended an 11-9 ‘Cats run with a score. Wilkins hit the front end of a one-and-one. He also hit the second to give the ‘Cats a 67-58 lead. Hawthorne scored in the pain off a pass from Kam Williams. The Dukes responded with a score on the other end. Kam Williams scored his first points of the season at the free-throw line, making both shots for a ‘Cats 71-61 lead. Mason Williams drove to the paint and scored at the rim. The ‘Cats led 73-65 with 7:26-minuts to play in the game. The Dukes hit a three to make it 73-68 ‘Cats. Mason Williams hit a quick pull-up three in front of a defender. McBride then nailed a three on the next possession to push the lead to 79-68 Kentucky. Momcilovic hit two free-throws for a 81-69 ‘Cats lead. Hawthorne converted a transition layup for a 85-71 lead. Hawthorne slammed home a transition dunk for the ‘Cats. Jones hit a three for the Dukes to make the score 87-77 ‘Cats with 1:11-minutes to play in the game. The ‘Cats went on to win the game by a score of 89-80.
Final: Kentucky 89 – James Madison 80
Game Stats:
James Madison FG %: 40% (33% 3PT – 15 of 45) (73% FT – 11 of 15)
Kentucky FG %: 51% (36% 3PT – 10 of 28) (79% FT – 15 of 19)
Rebounds: 40 – 36 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 14:7
Turnovers: UK (7), James Madison (7)
Bench Points: 39 – 24 Kentucky
Points off Turnovers: 13 – 9 Kentucky
Fast Break Points: 20 – 10 Kentucky
Paint Points: 40 – 20 Kentucky
Player Stats:
Alex Wilkins – [(16 points) (1 rebound) (1 assist) (1 steal)]
Zoom Diallo – [(16 points) (3 rebounds) (2 assists) (1 steal)]
Justin McBridge – [(13 points) (8 rebounds) (1 assist)]
Mason Williams – [(12 points) (2 rebounds) (5 assists) (1 steal)]
Braydon Hawthorne – [(10 points) (4 rebounds) (1 assists) (1 block) (1 steal)]
Malachi Moreno – [(8 points) (7 rebounds) (2 assists) (2 blocks) (1 steal)]
Milan Momcilovic – [(7 points) (3 rebounds)]
Ousmane N’Diaye – [(3 points) (2 rebounds) (1 block) (1 steal)]
Franck Kepnang – [(2 points) (2 rebounds) (1 assist)]
Kam Williams – [(2 points) (1 rebound) (1 assist)]
Reece Potter – [(DNP)]
Zyon Hawthorne – [(DNP)]
Jerone Morton – [OUT]
Trent Noah – [OUT]
Next Game:
The No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats (2-0, 0-0 SEC) will return hit the road for the Champions Classic when they take on the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks in the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday, November 10th. Tipoff is scheduled for approx. 9:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Content by – GRAHAM SHEPHERD for SPORTS VIEW AMERICA … Please check us out on X , INSTAGRAM, & FACEBOOK … Photo Galleries at Facebook.com/SportsViewAmerica & SVA PHOTOS
