National Basketball Association
Kentucky 78, Albany 65
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 13, 2015
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Karl Hess, # Brian Shey, # Glenn Tuitt
Attendance:
22080
By The Sports Xchange
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky entered the 2015-16 basketball season on Friday night with a No. 2 national ranking but lots of questions thanks to the departure of seven players from last year's 38-1 NCAA Final Four team.
The answers to some of those questions -- most notably how would Kentucky replace 76 percent of its scoring and 77 percent of its rebounds -- began to be revealed in a 78-65 victory over Albany at Rupp Arena.
Freshman guard Jamal Murray, considered a top-five NBA draft pick next summer, led the way with 19 points, including four dunks. He added eight assists and three rebounds.
The surprise of the night was junior forward Derek Willis, who came off the bench to score a career-best 14 points in the first half. The 6-foot-9 Willis had scored only 41 points in his two previous seasons.
The second half was a time for freshman Skal Labissiere to shine. After being held without a point in the first half, the 6-foot-11 forward, who is projected to be a top-five NBA draft pick, scored with 15:58 to play. He finished with nine points and five rebounds.
Albany was led by Peter Hooley with 18 points.
Kentucky was without freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe, who was nursing a bruised knee suffered during practice. Coach John Calipari is hopeful that Briscoe will return for Saturday's game against New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Top Game Performances
| Albany |
|
Kentucky |
|
Peter Hooley 18 |
Scoring |
Jamal Murray 19 |
|
Peter Hooley 2 |
Assists |
Jamal Murray 8 |
|
Greig Stire 4 |
Rebounds |
Marcus Lee 8 |
|
Peter Hooley 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Isaac Humphries 4 |
|
Mike Rowley 4 |
Steals |
Jamal Murray 3 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Skal Labissiere 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Albany
|
65 |
43.1 |
1-14 |
14-22 |
4 |
23 |
0 |
9 |
15 |
| Kentucky
|
78 |
56.0 |
6-17 |
16-24 |
16 |
33 |
8 |
6 |
20 |
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