LEXINGTON, Ky. — Alex Poythress and Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) each scored 22 points and the No. 8 Wildcats ran away from winless Long Island-Brooklyn 104-75 on Friday night.
Goodwin added nine rebounds and nine assists. Poythress also had nine rebounds as the Wildcats (4-1) won their third in a row.
Fellow freshman forward Nerlens Noel added 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for Kentucky. Julius Mays had 15 points and six assists and rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 for hot-shooting Kentucky, which finished 42 of 62 from the field (68 percent).
The Wildcats out rebounded the Blackbirds 41-24.
But it wasn’t easy early. Kentucky had to rally against LIU-Brooklyn (0-4), who led by six midway through the first half and 43-40 before the Wildcats closed the half with a 15-0 run.
Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere each scored 22 points for the Blackbirds, who shot 42 percent.
There were 10 lead changes and nine ties, and in some ways the game resembled what Kentucky faced in Wednesday’s 81-70 victory over Morehead State.
But whereas Morehead State played tough, physical defense against Kentucky, LIU-Brooklyn came at the Wildcats with quickness and scoring. The Blackbirds averaged 81.4 points per game last season and entered Friday’s game at 80.7.
For most of the first half, the Blackbirds showed the same determination as the Eagles did two nights ago. Boyd got his team started by scoring eight of their first 15 points, including three consecutive baskets to provide a 15-13 edge.
LIU-Brooklyn wasn’t afraid to take it inside against Kentucky’s big men, either.
Olasewere had a dunk and converted a three-point play after a drive on Noel. Boyd added baskets inside and outside and quick 6-foot guard Jason Brickman came off the bench to contribute a couple of shots en route to an eight point half.
The result was LIU-Brooklyn’s biggest lead at 32-26, creating some uneasiness among the Rupp Arena crowd of 22,221.
An 8-2 run helped the Wildcats tie the game at 34-34 and the teams traded baskets for several minutes before the Blackbirds took their final lead at 43-40 with four minutes remaining in the half. Kentucky closed with 15 consecutive points over the final 3:30 with the freshmen playing a big role - especially Goodwin, who scored six of his 15 over that stretch.
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Luke Hancock scored 19 points and Russ Smith had 18 points and six steals as No. 2 Louisville looked more like itself with an 84-61 victory over No. 13 Missouri in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. The Cardinals had a rougher-than-expected opening round game, a 51-46 victory over Northern Iowa, and Coach Rick Pitino looked and sounded upset after the game. Louisville was back to being one of the better defensive teams in the nation against the Tigers, forcing 23 turnovers that the Cardinals turned into 31 points. Missouri’s Phil Pressey, considered one of the better point guards in the country, had eight turnovers. The Cardinals (5-0) will face No. 5 Duke in tonight’s championship game. ... Deshaun Thomas scored 15 of his 21 points as No. 3 Ohio State coasted to a huge first-half lead on the way to a 91-45 victory against over matched Missouri-Kansas City in Columbus, Ohio.The game was the final tuneup for the Buckeyes (4-0) before their ACC/Big Ten Showdown match up against No. 5 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night. Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 13 points and LaQuinton Ross and Sam Thompson had 11 apiece as Ohio State experimented with subs for almost the entire second half. ... Mason Plumlee, a 6-10 center who helped break VCU’s pressure, had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 5 Duke (5-0) to a 67-58 victory over the Rams in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. ... Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points before he left late in the game after he was kneed in the head, and No. 4 Michigan beat Kansas State 71-57 to win the NIT Season Tipoff in New York. Glenn Robinson III had 12 rebounds, and Trey Burke and Jon Horford had 10 points each for the Wolverines. Hardaway made 10 of 15 shots from the field before he was hurt with about four minutes left. He returned to the bench just in time to celebrate with the rest of his team. Rodney McGruder scored 16 points and had seven rebounds, and Angel Rodriguez scored 10 points for Kansas State (5-1). Michigan (5-0) won the tournament, previously known as the Preseason NIT, for the first time. ... Kenny Boynton scored a season-high 24 points, Scottie Wilbekin added a career-best 17 and No. 7 Florida beat Central Florida 79-66 in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators (5-0) overcame a sluggish start, dominated the lane and pressed the Knights (3-2) into a bevy of turnovers. Boynton, three days after spraining his left ankle, made 7 of 15 shots and added eight rebounds. Wilbekin, playing his third game since returning from suspension, chipped in with five rebounds and eight assists - both career highs. Kasey Wilson led the Knights with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting. ... Keith Appling shook off a sprained right ankle in the first half and finished with 20 points to help No. 15 Michigan State (4-1) beat Oakland (2-4) 70-52. ... Richard Howell scored 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with 3:06 left, to help No. 16 North Carolina State (4-1) rally past UNC Asheville (1-5) 82-80 in Raleigh, N.C. ... Elias Harris scored 18 points and No. 17 Gonzaga (5-0) beat Oklahoma (3-1) 72-47 in a semifinal match up at the Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. ... Damyean Dotson scored a team-high19 points, including a short jumper from the key to give Oregon the lead for good, in an 83-79 upset of No. 18 UNLV in the semifinals of the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas. Dotson was one of four Ducks (5-0) to score 10 or more points. Carlos Emery had 16 points, Ben Carter added 12 and Dominic Artis contributed 11. In a wild second-half that had 16 lead changes and five ties, the Runnin’ Rebels (2-1) raced out with an 8-2 run to take a 45-42 lead at the 14:54 mark. But Oregon never lost focus and used a 13-5 run of its own to regain control. ... Andre Hollins scored a career-high 41 points to lead Minnesota to an 84-75 victory over No. 19 Memphis in the consolation semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. ... Sean Kilpatrick made all 16 of his free throws and scored 32 points, leading No. 22 Cincinnati to a 78-70 victory over Iowa State in the semifinals of the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas.
Sports, Pages 34 on 11/24/2012