National Basketball Association
Kentucky 93, Canisius 69
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 13, 2016
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Byron Jarrett, # Doug Simmons, # Sean Casey
Attendance:
22009
By The Sports Xchange
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- No. 2-ranked Kentucky ran its record to 2-0 Sunday night with a 93-69 victory over Canisius at Rupp Arena.
It was the Wildcats' final tuneup before a nationally televised showdown against No. 12 Michigan State on Tuesday.
"I just got to keep telling myself this is going to be a process," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "Because sometimes I'm coaching them like they've been here two years. But I've always done that and it's kind of worked. So, you got to either catch up or step aside, that's how it is. And throwing a lot of stuff at guys and making guys think and do stuff they have never had to do in their lives."
The Wildcats broke the game open with a 12-2 run to close the first half and a 29-14 spurt to open the second half for a 24-point lead midway through the second half. All told, Kentucky outscored Canisius 60-36 after the score was tied for the last time at 33-33.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe carried the day by scoring 17 of his career-best 21 points in the first half. He made 9-of-13 field goals when most of his teammates were struggling.
"Isaiah was the man," Calipari said. "What he did was, he just willed us when we were dying, and just said, 'Look, I'm not settling, I'm going to get something at the rim.' Made his free throws. Rebounded the ball."
"He is twice as good as he was a year ago. Twice as good," Calipari said. "And mainly because he's so confident shooting the ball now."
Briscoe did get plenty of help in the second half when the Wildcats' highly touted freshman class began to find its mark. De'Aaron Fox scored 13 of his 21 points after intermission. Malik Monk scored 12 of his 16 and Bam Adebayo eight of his 14 points to go with 11 rebounds for his first double-double.
Kentucky shot 50.8 percent from the field, but only 25 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats had 38 rebounds and forced 10 turnovers.
Canisius shot 41.9 percent but only 19 percent from 3-point range. The Golden Griffins had 36 rebounds but 18 turnovers. They were led by junior guard Kassius Robertson with 16 points. Junior forward Jermaine Crumpton scored 13 and senior guard Phil Valenti had 12.
Despite being a heavy underdog, Canisius raced out to a 9-2 lead, forcing Calipari to call a timeout. After the break, Briscoe scored eight of Kentucky's next 11 points in an 11-2 run for a 13-11 lead.
The Golden Griffins refused to go away, however, holding a 33-32 lead with 2:32 left in the first half. But that's when Kentucky kicked into high gear, outscoring Canisius 12-2 until intermission. Briscoe scored six of the 12 points, but the punctuation mark came on a lob from Fox to Monk for a slam dunk with :04 left for the nine-point lead. It was Kentucky's largest lead of the game up to that point.
In the first half, the Wildcats shot 45.5 percent but were 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Briscoe led the way by making 7-of-8 field goals. Adebayo and Monk were 0-for-6 and 1-for-6, respectively.
Kentucky had 21 rebounds, three assists and five turnovers.
"I told them in there, we're going to play high-level games, guys. I'm telling you, some of you guys, it will be a struggle for you to be on the floor unless you really start understanding how you got to play," Calipari said. "I think we're an unselfish team, I don't think we're selfish in any way. We're just used to being in their own shell. I'm worried about me and my man. I'm not worried about the rest of this. Well, that doesn't work anymore."
Canisius shot 45.7 percent in the first half, but was only 3-for-14 from 3-point range. Valenti and Robertson led the way with 10 points each. The Golden Griffins had 20 rebounds, seven assists and 10 turnovers. They were also whistled for 16 fouls as compared to five for Kentucky.
NOTES: De'Aaron Fox had 12 assists in his collegiate debut against Stephen F. Austin on Friday, the most ever for a Kentucky player in his first game. ... John Calipari is now one victory shy of tying Rick Pitino for the most total wins for a Kentucky coach. ... Kentucky entered this new season having to replace 75 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last year.
Top Game Performances
| Canisius |
|
Kentucky |
|
Kassius Robertson 16 |
Scoring |
Isaiah Briscoe 21 |
|
Kiefer Douse 2 |
Assists |
De'Aaron Fox 3 |
|
Phil Valenti 7 |
Rebounds |
Edrice Adebayo 11 |
|
Jermaine Crumpton 5 |
Free Throws Made |
De'Aaron Fox 9 |
|
Isaiah Reese 3 |
Steals |
Dominique Hawkins 2 |
|
Kiefer Douse 1 |
Blocks |
Edrice Adebayo 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Canisius
|
69 |
41.9 |
4-21 |
13-20 |
11 |
32 |
1 |
8 |
19 |
| Kentucky
|
93 |
50.8 |
4-16 |
27-39 |
10 |
39 |
7 |
4 |
10 |
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