UNCASVILLE, Conn. — In a largely empty arena on a Native American gambling resort, Kentucky faced its first soul-searching moment of the season on Sunday.
Unheralded Old Dominion tested UK's resolve and, in the case of All-America candidate Terrence Jones, the strength of his chin.
Ultimately, the Cats prevailed 62-52 to win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
ODU Coach Blaine Taylor noted the psychological toll that came as a by-product of physical play.
"A mental game," he called it. "Who thought they were more tired and who thought they were frustrated."
The key word was "more." Both teams were tired and frustrated, with ODU playing its fifth game in nine days, one reason for a game-long zone that unsettled Kentucky.
UK played its third game in a six-day span away from home.
"This was a long trip, folks," the usually indefatigable John Calipari said. "I'm tired."
The UK coach called it the Cats' second "mud-wrestling game" on the trip, the first being Tuesday's grinder against Kansas in Madison Square Garden.
A collision under the basket in a tense, almost combative second half, left Jones down face-first on the court. When he arose, he looked dazed as trainer Chris Simmons accompanied him to a neutral corner, er, the bench.
Although ODU staggered Jones and muscled freshman Anthony Davis into a fifth foul with more than four minutes left, Kentucky won.
Calipari credited senior Darius Miller, who matched his season total of 13 points while handing out five assists (one shy of a career-high). His precocious teammates found themselves in an alien, threatening environment.
"I didn't really play the low post in high school," Davis reminded reporters. "I've never been in that situation."
Miller, always imperturbable, showed the way.
"He's a veteran," Calipari said. "He understands. He's been there."
Kentucky, which improved to 4-0, had not trailed at halftime so far this season. But the Cats were behind inside the final 90 seconds against Old Dominion.
A fast finish — and Old Dominion scoring one basket in the final 4:23 — gave UK a 32-27 halftime lead.
A tip-in by Eloy Vargas with 1:25 left tied it at 27. A three-point play by Miller put Kentucky ahead 30-27 with a minute left. His two free throws on a one-and-one with 25.9 seconds on the clock set the halftime score.
"A little like kissing your sister," Taylor said of being behind at half. "We did everything right, and we were still behind."
UK never seemed to settle into a rhythm against ODU's zone. The Cats committed 12 first-half turnovers, five by point guard Marquis Teague, and finished with 21.
"We hadn't worked against a 2-3 (zone)," Calipari said, "and you could almost tell."
Two free throws by star Kent Bazemore, who struggled against a revolving door of defenders, gave ODU its largest lead: 18-11 with 11:20 left. Already, ODU had surpassed the 15 points Penn State scored in the first half against Kentucky on Saturday.
Kentucky could not extract itself from ODU, or itself. Turnovers and missed shots helped keep the UK lead at five, 36-31, at the first television timeout of the second half.
A rare four-point play and a technical foul on ODU helped Kentucky forge its first double-digit lead with 13:33 to play.
Saturday's hero, Doron Lamb, who had one first-half basket, hit a three-pointer from the left corner and got fouled. Miller's pass set up Lamb, whose four-point play put the Cats ahead 40-31 with 14:32 left.
A minute later, the game came partially unglued. The refs called ODU's Dimitri Batten for blocking as a fast-breaking Davis collided with him, leaving both players sprawled on the floor.
As the players unpiled, the referees saw actions worthy of technical fouls on Jones of UK and Jason Pimentel of ODU. Davis' two foul shots put Kentucky ahead 42-31 with 13:33 left.
Sixteen seconds later, the referees called a technical on ODU's Marquel De Lancey.
From then on, the referees called the action tightly, perhaps to prevent any further flare-ups. As a result, both teams were shooting the one-on-one with more than 12 minutes left.
That set the stage for a grind-to-the-finish game.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Trian Iliadis, who came into the game shooting 16.7 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-18), helped Old Dominion close within one, 50-49. More than seven minutes remained.
"I was saying, this is just how we're looking at the map," Taylor said. "Let's go down this road."
But Kentucky scored three straight inside baskets to ease the growing tension.
When ODU shot a one-and-one with 12:27, the empty seats in Mohegan Sun Arena made it easy to hear a UK fan yell, "I came to watch basketball. Let 'em play, ref."
Calipari suggested that UK fans prepare to see more such basketball. Opponents will use zone and patience.
"Hope we get antsy," Calipari said. "Make freshmen say, 'I haven't had a basket in a while; I'll jack one up.'
"... That's probably what you'll see till we learn how to play against a zone. Then we'll kill you."
