Kentucky played well
against Georgetown College in their first exhibition game of the season.
LEXINGTON – October 27, 2019 – Bradley Charles – Bluegrass
Sports Nation
On Sunday night, the Kentucky Wildcats hosted Georgetown College, winners of last season’s NAIA National Championship. Despite it being an exhibition game, 19,527 people filed into Rupp Arena.
All in all, it was a feel-good night for Kentucky fans, but
there were some things that were not ideal. For example, the Tigers out
rebounded Kentucky 45-39, had the same amount of fast-break points (19), and for
most of the game had nearly the same amount of points scored in the paint. That
being said, Kentucky looked really good, and in Calipari’s tenure at UK, his
teams really tend to play their best basketball toward the end of the season.
Game Summary
Kentucky’s starting lineup featured Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, Keion Brooks Jr., EJ Montgomery, and Nick Richards. The Cats made eight of their first 10 shots of the game en route to a 25-6 lead. Kentucky stretched their lead to 40-13, but the Tigers responded with a 12-0 run. Kentucky took a 43-25 lead into halftime.
Kentucky’s starting lineup in the second half featured
Ashton Hagans, Tyrese Maxey, Kahlil Whitney, EJ Montgomery, and Nick Richards.
Richards began the half with a jump hook in the lane, but at the 19:03 mark
sustained an injury to his lower left leg and did not return to the game.
After the game, Calipari was asked if he could provide an
update on Richards, to which he replied, “(His ankle is) swelled up. I didn’t
see it on the tape but they told me he rolled it pretty good. I don’t know if
he stepped on an ankle or if he just rolled it but it was swelled up.”
Georgetown College went on an 8-0 run, to bring the score to
45-33; however, Kentucky responded with a 12-0 run to make the score 57-33. The
final score was 80-53 in favor of the Cats.
Ashton Hagans tallied
14 points and had game highs with six assists and four steals.
Immanuel Quickley
led the Cats with 16 points, which would have bested his career high of 15 had
it been an official game. Quickley’s three 3-pointers also tied his career
high.
Nate Sestina recorded
a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyrese Maxey
notched 14 points to go along with three assists and two steals.
Interesting Facts
Kentucky is now 137-12 all-time in exhibition games with a 3-0 record against Georgetown College.
While in official games UK leads the all-time series against
Georgetown College 35-15, they haven’t played in a game that’s counted since
1938.
Kentucky has won their last 16 exhibition games dating back
to Nov. 2, 2014 vs. Pikeville. The last loss came on Aug. 17, 2014 against the
Dominican Republic in the final game of the 2014 Big Blue Bahamas exhibition
tour.
Georgetown College head coach Chris Briggs and his wife both
have ties to UK. Briggs was a student manager at UK from 2001 to 2004 and was a
graduate assistant from 2004 to 2006. His wife, Elizabeth, currently works for
the UK athletics department.
What’s Next?
Kentucky’s next game is going to take place inside Rupp Arena against Kentucky State on Friday, November 1st. It will be Kentucky’s final exhibition game of the season. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. and will air on the SEC Network.
