Kentucky wins big, but it’s still learning ‘how to grind somebody out’
Before the game, the wife of longtime Mount St. Mary’s coach Jim Phelan made a request of John Calipari. Dottie Phelan said, “You tell my good friend John to be gentle.”
It took while before No. 9 Kentucky and its coach could consider being kind to Mount St. Mary’s on Friday night.
A big second half propelled UK to an 82-62 victory. By making their first four three-point shots, UK expanded a five-point halftime lead to as much as 25 midway through the second half. The visitors got no closer than 15 thereafter.
“That hurt us because that was our plan,” current Mount St. Mary’s coach Dan Engelstad said of UK making five of 10 three-point shots in the second half. “Our plan was to limit transition, limit in the paint and make them jump shooters.”
Mount St. Mary’s was 0-for-3. UK enjoyed a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint and 15-6 in transition points.
Kentucky got a lift with the return from injury of EJ Montgomery and Immanuel Quickley. Montgomery, who had not played since the opener against Michigan State, scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds in 15 minutes.
“The guy that made the difference is EJ,” Calipari said. “You would have never known he was not playing for a while. I mean, not having him really affects us. Having him, when he’s playing (well), he’s a difference-maker.”
Quickley, who missed the last game because of what UK called a chest injury, scored 13 points. Ashton Hagans flirted with a triple-double (16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists) as UK improved to 4-1.
But Kentucky did not sound satisfied. What was lacking?
“Just knowing how to grind somebody out in the last few minutes …,” Hagans said. “As these next couple weeks go along, we’ll get that going.”
Kahlil Whitney acknowledged that the UK players have had to learn that any opponent, no matter how immodest its profile, can pose a threat.
“Yeah, you can say that,” he said. “We knew already that every team that comes in here, they’re going to give us their best game.”
Mount St. Mary’s, which saw its all-time record against ranked opponents fall to 1-32, came into the game looking in need of mercy.
The Mountaineers had won only one of five games, and they ranked outside the top 100 in all 31 of the statistical categories compiled by the NCAA. Mount St. Mary’s, a liberal arts Catholic college in Emmitsburg, Md., ranked outside the top 200 of the 351 Division I schools in 21 statistical categories.
It took a while for Kentucky to impose its will.
The first half contained more of the same poor three-point shooting by Kentucky. UK made only one of five three-point shots. Tyrese Maxey made the only three. It came with 1:48 left and it gave UK its largest lead to that point: 37-30.
A big surprise came at the foul line. In the season’s first four games, UK made more free throws (97) than the opponents attempted (60).
But in the first half, Mount St. Mary’s shot more free throws than Kentucky: 14-11. For the game, each team shot 18.
Not that Kentucky did not show its signature approach of attacking the basket. Nick Richards set the tone early. He dunked twice inside the first 46 seconds, both times off passes from Hagans, and finished with a game-high 19 points.
Later in the half, Mount St. Mary’s Damian Chong Qui seemed to bedevil Richards. Twice the 5-foot-8 guard scored on him, the first time by driving around the UK “big” and then hitting a pull-up jumper.
Then with 2:27 left, Richards fouled Chong Qui about 70 feet from their basket. Calipari hopped off the bench and held his palms up as if to gesture a question: why?
Kentucky kept pounding away in the paint. A leaner by Hagans in the lane with 16:51 left gave UK its first double-digit lead (47-36). A dunk by Richards expanded the lead to 49-36 with 15:47 left.
You could say Kentucky Quickley expanded the lead. Quickley accounted for eight points in a 10-0 run that put the Cats ahead 59-39. He capped the breakout with a three-pointer off a fast break. That prompted a Mount St. Mary’s timeout with 13:13 left.
Victory was in sight. But UK players spoke afterward of not victory how defeat had loomed as a possibility.
“A big part of it is knowing every game we’ve got to come out and stay locked in,” Whitney said of the team’s ongoing development. “We can get beat by anybody.”
