No matter what happened in Kentucky’s pool-play finale at the GLOBL JAM on Saturday afternoon, the Wildcats knew they had already qualified for the event’s gold medal game set for the following night.
That didn’t lead to much let-up on UK’s end.
The Cats jumped on Africa early and kept things (mostly) under control the entire way, ultimately winning, 104-92, to go 3-0 in the pool portion of the four-team exhibition tournament in Toronto.
Kentucky led by 11 points at the end of the first quarter and went into the halftime locker room with an 18-point lead. Africa cut into that advantage at various points in the second half — amid some major foul trouble on the Wildcats’ end — but UK’s third opponent of this trip was unable to get the margin any closer than six points down the stretch.
UK coach John Calipari switched up his starting five once again Saturday — something he said he planned to do after Thursday’s game — to get a look at some different lineup combinations. Calipari went with four freshmen (D.J. Wagner, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards and Jordan Burks) along with sophomore Adou Thiero, who has been the only UK player to start all three games this week.
Antonio Reeves came off the bench for the first time on this trip and led Kentucky in scoring for the third consecutive game, finishing with 27 points and shooting 8 for 11 from 3-point range. He had 18 points and five 3s by halftime.
Fellow fifth-year college player Tre Mitchell, also coming off the bench for the first time, once again did a little bit of everything, ending up with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Wagner also came up with some important plays down the stretch, utilizing his ability to get to the basket for crucial buckets in crunch time. He had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists with zero turnovers.
Reed Sheppard, one of UK’s stars in a win over Canada on Thursday night, made big plays at key moments and tallied 18 points and eight assists against Africa.
Edwards keyed Kentucky’s initial offensive burst, scoring nine points by the end of the first quarter and finishing the game with 15 points.
Thiero once again played a physical brand of basketball, finishing with seven points, six rebounds and three steals.
With Reeves leading the way, the Wildcats shot 35 3s and made 14 of them. (UK shot 55% from the field and made eight of 18 3s in the first half.)
University of Louisville big man Emmanuel Okorafor started for Africa and had 16 points and five rebounds.
Kentucky also defeated Africa by double digits in a closed-door scrimmage Tuesday afternoon, though Africa was missing some key players for that matchup.
Ugonna Onyenso watch
Kentucky played without sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso once again Saturday afternoon. The 6-foot-11 big man was in his spot at the end of UK’s bench for the game, wearing a protective boot on his left ankle, the result of an injury suffered against Africa in Tuesday’s closed-door scrimmage.
Calipari never officially ruled Onyenso out for the GLOBL JAM following that injury, but he’s been on crutches and moving slowly and carefully all week, and he is not expected to play for the Wildcats on Sunday night.
UK was already without freshman 7-footer Aaron Bradshaw, who did not make the trip with the team after undergoing a recent medical procedure for a foot injury.
Kentucky’s next game
The Wildcats will play either Canada or Germany for the GLOBL JAM gold medal Sunday at 8 p.m., and that matchup will air live on CBS Sports Network.
Those two teams were set to play Saturday night, and the winner will finish pool play with a 2-1 record, good enough for advancement to the title game Sunday.
Kentucky beat both Canada and Germany rather handily earlier in pool play. The Wildcats topped Germany, 81-73, on Wednesday afternoon, but UK led that game safely by double digits for much of the second half before a late German flurry. Kentucky beat Canada, 93-69, on Thursday night.
