National Basketball Association
Kentucky 84, North Carolina 70
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 13, 2014
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # Tony Greene, # Doug Shows
Attendance:
24406
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 1 Kentucky 84, No. 18 North Carolina 70: Willie Cauley-Stein recorded 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks as the host Wildcats handled the Tar Heels.
Aaron Harrison scored 14 points and keyed a strong finish to the first half for Kentucky (11-0), which had scored more than 63 points only once in its previous four games but had 49 at halftime of this one. Freshman Devin Booker contributed 15 points off the Wildcats' bench while Andrew Harrison had 11 points and five assists.
Brice Johnson paced North Carolina (6-3) with 15 points and Marcus Paige added 14 on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Paige dished out six assists, while Kennedy Meeks chipped in 10 points for the Tar Heels, who outrebounded the Wildcats 31-24 in Kentucky's first game since losing forward Alex Poythress to a season-ending knee injury.
Kentucky controlled most of the first half and scored 13 of the final 18 points to take a 49-34 lead into intermission. Aaron Harrison caught fire late in the session, nailing three consecutive 3-pointers to account for the Wildcats' final nine points of the period.
Trey Lyles' layup about four minutes into the second half extended Kentucky's lead to 59-40 and Booker answered Paige's 3-pointer with one of his own to restore a 19-point edge. Booker had been 0-of-9 from 3-point range over the last two games but made all three of his 3s in this one as the Wildcats were 7-of-15 from long range.
GAME NOTEBOOK: After making a total of six 3-pointers in the last three games, Kentucky was 6-of-12 from outside the arc in the first half against the Tar Heels. ... J.P. Tokoto committed six of the 19 turnovers for North Carolina, which had won seven of the previous 10 matchups with Kentucky. ... The Wildcats' bench outscored the Tar Heels' reserves, 33-19, with Marcus Lee chipping in eight points on 4-of-4 shooting.
Top Game Performances
| North Carolina |
|
Kentucky |
|
Brice Johnson 15 |
Scoring |
Devin Booker 15 |
|
Marcus Paige 6 |
Assists |
Tyler Ulis 8 |
|
J.P. Tokoto 6 |
Rebounds |
Willie Cauley-Stein 6 |
|
Joel Berry II 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Andrew Harrison 9 |
|
J.P. Tokoto 4 |
Steals |
Willie Cauley-Stein 4 |
|
Kennedy Meeks 1 |
Blocks |
Willie Cauley-Stein 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| North Carolina
|
70 |
45.0 |
6-13 |
10-13 |
13 |
26 |
2 |
5 |
19 |
| Kentucky
|
84 |
56.2 |
7-15 |
23-31 |
19 |
22 |
5 |
12 |
15 |
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