UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY vs. BAHAMAS NATIONAL TEAM
BIG BLUE BAHAMAS | ATLANTIS IMPERIAL ARENA| PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS
AUG. 8, 2018
ATTENDANCE: 1,290
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 85, Bahamas National Team 61
· This was Kentucky’s first exhibition game of the Big Blue Bahamas foreign exhibition tour. UK will play three additional games during the tour.
· The Wildcats return to the Atlantis Imperial Arena court on Thursday vs. San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina). That game will tip at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.
· UK improved to 131-12 all-time in exhibition games and 6-1 in the Bahamas. The Wildcats went 5-1 in their previous trip to the Bahamas in 2014.
· Kentucky has won its last 10 exhibition games dating back to Nov. 2, 2014, vs. Pikeville.
First-Half Facts
· Kentucky’s starting lineup featured Quade Green, Immanuel Quickley, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and Nick Richards.
· Johnson scored the first points of the trip with a pull-up jumper just inside the right elbow 3-point line.
· Kentucky stormed out to a 13-0 lead in the first three minutes, highlighted by two dunks from Richards and Washington.
· Richards was unstoppable early in the first half. He reached 10 points just five and a half minutes into the game and scored 14 for the half.
· The Bahamas clawed back after the fast start and cut the Wildcats’ lead to 25-22 with 7:54 left in the first half. The Bahamas would get as close as two points on several occasions.
· Tyler Herro and Ashton Hagans helped UK earn some breathing room with some solid play late in the half. Hagans was all over the floor defensively with three steals while Herro scored 12 points in the first half.
Second-Half Story
· The Bahamas quickly erased a seven-point deficit with a 7-0 run to start the second half in the first 1:37 of game time to tie the score at 42-42. It was the game’s first tie.
· The Bahamas team took its first lead of the game at the 16:44 mark on a layup by Jerome Burrows to go up 44-43. Herro got the lead back on the following possession with a leaning layup.
· Washington’s bank shot with 15:14 left gave UK a 47-45 lead it would never relinquish.
· Kentucky went on an 11-2 run after the game was tied 45-45 and pulled away.
Team Notes
· Kentucky used its size to good advantage, outrebounding the Bahamas 57-45 and winning points in the paint, 46-30.
· Four Wildcats scored in double figures.
· Kentucky scored 20 points off turnovers and gave up just three from its own miscues.
· UK had 13 steals, compared with two for the BNT.
· UK committed just eight turnovers, compared with 15 by the BNT.
Player Notes
· Nick Richards led all scorers with 19 points, including 14 in the first half. He was 6 of 7 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the line.
· Had it been a regular-season game, it would have been his second-highest scoring output in a UK uniform. He posted 25 points vs. Fort Wayne as a freshman.
· He also blocked a team-high two shots.
· Tyler Herro notched 16 points, including 12 in the first half.
· He was 6 of 11 from the floor
· Reid Travis showed off the rebounding ability that helped him to back-to-back All-Pac-12 selections at Stanford. He grabbed a game-high 14 boards.
· Travis, a transfer from Stanford, averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds at Stanford a season ago.
