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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Threatened with a benching after the worst
game of his college career, Desmond Allison responded.
Allison put the shooting back in a shooting guard position that
has mostly fired blanks for the No. 23 Wildcats this season,
scoring a team-high 15 points in an 86-41 win over North
Carolina-Asheville on Tuesday night.
The win broke a three-game losing streak that was the longest in
nearly a decade for the Wildcats (4-3). Asheville (0-8) added
another loss to the worst start in school history.
Allison said his play in Saturday's 83-75 loss to Indiana, when
he went scoreless and committed four fouls in just 13 minutes, was
on his mind when he came out to start Tuesday's game. So was coach
Tubby Smith's threat Monday to bench him in favor of one of
Kentucky's two freshmen.
"Those words get to you. You're a starter. You do not want to
be sitting on the bench, so you have to go out there, play your
heart out and have a great game," he said. "I listened to those
words, took them in stride and played a good game."
A pair of early 3-pointers lifted Kentucky to a 10-2 lead and
set the sophomore on his way to a career high in points. He made
all five shots he took from the field, including three 3s, and both
of his free-throws.
"He had good looks," Smith said. "His follow-through with his
jump shot was picture perfect."
Freshman Marvin Stone added his first career double-double,
scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Jamaal
Magloire had 14 points, Keith Bogans scored 12 and Jules Camara had
11.
John Risinger led Asheville with 11 points, while Adam Earnhardt
grabbed seven rebounds.
Asheville was just what Kentucky needed after successive losses
to Arizona, Dayton and Indiana, the Wildcats' worst slide since
they dropped five straight in December and January of 1989-90, when
Rick Pitino was in his first season as coach and the team was on
NCAA probation.
"It is certainly good to be back at Rupp," Smith said. "It's good to see guys smile again."
There was plenty to smile about, even if Asheville presented
nothing like the challenge that lies straight ahead for Kentucky:
successive games at No. 21 Maryland on Saturday, against in-state
blood rival Louisville on Dec. 18 and vs. No. 4 Michigan State on
Dec. 23.
Anemic offensively for much of the season, Kentucky shot a
season-high 45.6 percent from the field (31 of 68) and recorded a
season-high point total against the Bulldogs.
The defense, a source of concern for Smith after Indiana shot
54.7 percent from the floor, tightened, limiting Asheville to just
36.1 percent shooting (15 of 44) and forcing 29 turnovers which led
to 37 Kentucky points.
After jumping ahead, Kentucky had an 11-0 run and closed the
half with a 14-0 surge to take a 41-16 lead at the break. The
second half was more of the same, including another 14-0 run.
"We just went back to the fundamentals," Smith said. "That's
where we had our breakdown" during the losing streak.
Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach has watched his team lose on
the road to Top 25 opponents Kentucky, Connecticut and Tennessee,
as well as at Missouri and Saint Louis.
"We had hoped to come in here and play well," he said. "It's
disappointing, because we had been getting better while the games
have been getting tougher. Our guys tried hard and it wasn't their
effort, but rather a combination of mental alertness and playing
like you're supposed to play."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
North Carolina Asheville Clubhouse
Kentucky Clubhouse
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