Cats share the rock, roll past Canada, 93-69, at GLOBL Jam
Kentucky freshman guard Reed Sheppard soared for a dunk in the first half of Thursday's win over Canada. (Chet White/UK Athletics)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
Prior to leaving the Bluegrass State for GLOBL Jam, Kentucky's players took turns telling the media how impressed they were by the way their new teammates shared the basketball in practice.
Two games into the international tournament in Toronto, Big Blue Nation can clearly see why.
Kentucky carved up Canada on Thursday at the Mattamy Athletic Center, dishing out 27 assists on 35 field goals en route to a 93-69 romp over the host team. That came on the heels of recording 24 assists on 31 buckets in Wednesday's 81-73 win over Germany.
"Low turnovers, unselfish play," UK head coach John Calipari said. "I'll be honest, we have literally done very little defense (in practice), but I told them I've got a really smart team, and I got a bunch of basketball players.
"... These dudes play basketball, so I can open up the court and create space. I don't have to run stuff to get a shot. We can play like my teams have always played, so we're having some fun."
The Cats secured a spot in Sunday's gold medal game by remaining the only undefeated team in the event. After a day to rest on Friday, they will face Africa on Saturday seeking to remain perfect in round-robin play.
Senior guard Antonio Reeves led four Kentucky players in double-figure scoring, pumping in 23 points on a 10-of-15 shooting night. He also knocked down three of the Cats' 11 3-pointers.
Freshman guard Justin Edwards followed with 16 points, while freshman guard Reed Sheppard contributed 14 points, four assists, and four steals in a well-rounded effort. Sophomore forward Adou Thiero also had a nice stat line with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Freshman guard Rob Dillingham led Kentucky with nine assists.
Playing a new starting lineup that featured Dillingham and Sheppard to go along with Reeves, Thiero, and Tre Mitchell, Kentucky jumped out to a 24-16 lead in the first quarter by hitting eight of its first nine attempts from the field.
Canada hung around until midway through the second quarter when the Cats used a 14-4 run to open up a comfortable lead. The run included a pair of 3-pointers by Edwards and a steal leading to a run-out dunk by Sheppard.
Sheppard, the son of former UK standout and 1998 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Jeff Sheppard, later came up with another highlight reel play when he blocked a Canada shot with time running down in the second quarter and raced to the other end for another dunk to give the Cats a 49-34 lead at the break.
The UK lead grew to 22 by the end of the third quarter and to as many as 27 in the fourth period.
Canada was led by Elijah Mahi with 14 points and Jahmyl Telfort with 12. The host team was held to 39% from the field and committed 21 turnovers against the long, athletic UK defense.
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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
Adou Thiero and Justin Edwards combined to score all of Kentucky's first 13 points in the second quarter as an eight-point lead grew to 13. Reed Sheppard then tallied six of his 14 points in the final 3:45, including a pair of crowd-pleasing runout dunks, to give the Cats a 49-34 lead at halftime. Canada was never able to draw within single digits again.
GAME BALL:
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky -- The freshman guard and legacy recruit prompted flashbacks to his father with a fine all-around performance that included 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, two 3-pointers, four assists, four steals, two rebounds, and two blocked shots.
BY THE NUMBERS:
9 - Turnovers by the Cats.
11 of 30 - Three-point shooting by Kentucky, including four players with multiple makes.
12 - Steals by the Cats, including four by Reed Sheppard.
23 - Points scored by UK off 21 Canada turnovers.
47 - Points scored by Antonio Reeves in two games at GLOBL Jam on 18-of-31 (58%) shooting.
QUOTABLE:
"We've got a lot of playmakers on this team." -- UK senior guard Antonio Reeves
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET against Africa. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
