5 more thoughts and postgame notes from Kentucky’s win over San Lorenzo

Day two of Christmas in August for Kentucky fans got off to a great start with the way the Cats started the game.

Kentucky faced off with San Lorenzo de Almagro who is coming off winning their championship in the Argentinian league and is a much tougher opponent for the Cats then what they faced in game one against the Bahamas National team.

After a game where they struggled to shoot the ball, Kentucky came out and sophomore Quade Green immediately knocks down an open three after he was in the gym working on his shot at midnight after going 0/6 in the first game.

In the game against the Bahamas, Kentucky struggled to score at times and their defense looked rough at times, but that is understandable. However, in this one, the Cats held San Lorenzo to just 27 first-half points and executed well on offense.

Due to the fact that the lights suddenly went out and the fire alarm started going off with about two minutes left in the half, they were forced to call that halftime and would play a 22-minute second half. That allowed the Cats to take a 45-27 lead into the break.

Out of halftime, Kentucky started slow and allowed San Lorenzo to cut into the lead and get it to under 10. Although we want to see the Cats dominate the game, it was good for them to face adversity on the floor and see how the respond when a team starts to make a run on them.

Kentucky passed this test with flying colors and soon the intensity jumped up and they were executing well again. It didn’t take long for them to build the lead back up well over 10 and Kentucky went on to take the game by a large margin 91-68 over San Lorenzo de Almagro.

Thoughts on the game

Reid Travis looked more comfortable

Travis struggled on the offensive end in the first game but tonight he was able to get the ball in his spots and converted on the chances. He finished with 11 points on 4/10 shooting and grabbed 6 rebounds.

One thing that is encouraging about Travis is in game one when his shot wasn’t falling, he still did the dirty work to help the team win. Once he gets in his rhythm he will be a force on the floor.

Tyler Herro was great yet again

After Herro showed out in game one, he backed it up with an even better performance in game two. Herro finished with 22 points on 7/10 shooting and went 4/5 from three-point land. He also grabbed 2 rebounds and had 2 assists.

The only thing that still hurts him is his defense. He will need to improve on that end of the floor but when you can score at that level Cal will live with him giving up some points.

Ashton Hagans will be our best on-ball defender

Watching Hagans in game one I noticed that he always causes issues for the ball handler and came up with several steals and had a bunch of deflected balls.

Tonight, it was more of the same for him. He only came up with one steal in this one but the amount of discomfort that he puts the opponent’s guards in will create a ton of turnovers this season which will lead to a lot of fast break points.

Nick Richards was impressive again

After game one where Richards has a big game he came back in this one against a professional team and performed at a high level yet again. He finished with 10 points on 5/6 shooting and had 3 rebounds.

Defense was still an issue for him but once again they haven’t spent much time on that in practice and I believe that as the season approaches and progresses he will become a much better defender in the low post.

The team shot much better

In game one, the team couldn’t buy a basket from three as they went 2/20. However, in this one they were able to convert from the outside at a high level. They went 7/12 (58%) from three and they looked more comfortable shooting the ball compared to the game against the Bahamas National team.

With the Cats win over a professional team they now move to 2-0 in their Bahamas trip and will take the floor again on Saturday night at 7PM on the SEC Network when they take on arguably their toughest opponent of the week in Mega Bemax.

Now, here is a look at the postgame notes from Uk athletics:

First-Half Facts

• Kentucky started Quade Green, Immanuel Quickley, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Nick Richards for the second straight game.
• It was a night of redemption for three Wildcats who struggled shooting the ball in the Big Blue Bahamas foreign tour opener
• After going 1 for 11 from the floor Wednesday, Green made an immediate impact in Friday’s game. He scored five early points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key to start the game.
• Johnson also came out strong to start the game, scoring five points to propel the Wildcats to an early 12-4 lead.
• Reid Travis was all over the glass in the first game with a game-high 14 boards but made just 2 of 9 shots. He sunk three of his first six shots Thursday for six quick points.
• After combining to go 6 of 35 Wednesday, Green, Johnson and Travis combined to make 13 of 21 shots Thursday.
• The Wildcats opened up a 32-20 lead on Tyler Herro’s 3-pointer and Immanuel Quickley’s pull-up jumper.
• Herro caught fire late in the second half. He scored five straight points to give UK a 42-27 lead with just over four minutes left. He scored 15 in the first half.
• With 2:53 left in the first half, power went out on Paradise Island. After a slight delay, backup lights turned on but power was off to the scoreboard and TV network. With a lengthy delay likely, the teams agreed to end the half. The teams resumed in the second half on backup generators. With about 13 minutes left in the second half, power and TV returned.

Second-Half Story

• Kentucky opened up a 15-point lead with a Richards finish at the 15-minute mark.
• San Lorenzo answered with a 6-0 run to cut UK’s lead to 53-44 with 13:54 to go but the Wildcats answered with five straight.
• Kentucky’s lead ballooned to 68-50 on a Washington “and one.”
• UK went on a 9-0 run late in the game to take a 79-57 lead with 5:31 remaining.

Team Notes

• Kentucky found its offensive rhythm in game two, making 64.1 percent of its shots, including 7 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc.
• Six Wildcats scored in double figures.
• UK led for 38:00 of the game.
• The Wildcats won the battle of the glass again, outrebounding San Lorenzo 32-20.

Player Notes

• Tyler Herro led six Wildcats in double figures with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
• He’s made 13 of 21 shots over the two games so far.
• He made 4 of 5 from behind the arc vs. San Lorenzo.
• He’s leading UK in scoring through the first two games, averaging 19.0 points.
• PJ Washington notched 15 points, on 6-of-11 shooting.
• He was 6 of 11 from the floor
• Keldon Johnson scored 13 points on a 5-of-7 performance from the floor.
• Reid Travis posted 11 points and six rebounds.
• A night after leading UK with 19 points, Nick Richards reached double figures again with 10 points.
• Immanuel Quickley stuffed the stat sheet with six points, a game-high seven rebounds and a game-high five assists.

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