LAHAINA, Hawaii — Shortly after making a careless mistake, one of numerous in the first half, Terrence Jones tried pleading his case to Kentucky Coach John Calipari.
Calipari interrupted his talented freshman and told him in not-so-subtle fashion to take a seat on the bench.
Jones didn’t sit for long, dominating inside on his way to 29 points and 13 rebounds and helping the eighth-ranked Wildcats hold off scrappy Oklahoma 76-64 in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday.
“He’s not used to playing this hard, he’s not used to competing,” Calipari said. “As the game gets more physical, that’s when we’ll find out is he ready to be that guy. Today was terrific.”
It sure was, and the Wildcats (3-0) needed all of it.
The 1993 Maui champions, Kentucky was dominant at times, racing out to what seemed to be rout-starting leads.
Jones wouldn’t let the Sooners get there, blocking a three-point attempt by Cade Davis then sealing the victory with a breakaway dunk that made it 70-62 with just over a minute left. He finished 12 of 17 from the field, blocked4 shots, had 3 assists - one a no-looker while leading the break - and had 2 steals.
In other top 25 games, Mason Plumlee scored a career-high 25 points had 12 rebounds and 6 blocks to lead No. 1 Duke (4-0) to an 82-77 victory over Marquette (4-1) in Kansas City, Mo., in the semifinals of the CBE Classic. ... Kalin Lucas had 28 points, Korie Lucious added 13 and No. 2 Michigan State (3-0) prevented another Chaminade surprise by holding off the Silverswords (3-1) in an 82-74 victory in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii. ... LaceDarius Dunn scored 24 points with seven three-pointers in his season debut and 12th-ranked Baylor (4-0) defeated visiting Lipscomb 72-60. Jordan Burgason had 15 points to lead Lipscomb (2-2). ... Kawhi Leonard had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 18 San Diego State (5-0) turned up its defensive pressure and used two big scoring runs to pull away from Miami (Ohio) (2-3) for a 77-56 victory in Oxford, Ohio, in the CBE Classic.
In other SEC games, Ravern Johnson scored 25 points to lead host Mississippi State (3-0) to an 82-76 victory over Detroit (1-3). ... Jeron Belin’s threepointer from the top of the key with 10 seconds left gave Saint Peter’s (1-3) a 50-49 victory over Alabama (2-3) in the seventh-place game of the Paradise Jam on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Tony Mitchell, whose last-second shot for Alabama missed, finished with 15 points, and JaMychal Green added 13.
Sports, Pages 22 on 11/23/2010