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Cats find a way to beat Cards again

Louisville was right where it wanted to be with 12.6 seconds left to play in yet another Kentucky-Louisville classic.

The Cardinals had battled back from a 16-point deficit in the second half and trailed 75-73 with the ball in the hands of star transfer Damion Lee -- who had 27 points on the game, 14 of them coming in the second half-- with a chance to steal a win in historic Rupp Arena.

Tyler Ulis' 21 points and eight assists helped the Cats to another win in this rivalry series.
Tyler Ulis' 21 points and eight assists helped the Cats to another win in this rivalry series.

Lee dribbled around the perimeter and forced up a game-winning three over Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, but the shot faltered in the air and failed to make it to the rim as time expired, giving Kentucky its eighth win out of the last nine tries against Louisville.

In what is now college basketball’s best rivalry, Kentucky coach John Calipari improved his record to 8-1 over Rick Pitino and hated rival Louisville, a dominance unseen in the series prior to Calipari’s arrival in Lexington.

Kentucky was led throughout by sophomore guard Tyler Ulis, who scored 21 points -- with several critical three point shots throughout the game -- and dished out eight assists in 39 minutes of play.

“It was a great team performance and we came out with a lot of energy from the jump ball,” Ulis said. “As a team I feel like we played really hard and that’s what got us the win.”

For the Wildcats to earn their eighth win over the Cardinals however, excellent play throughout the game from unlikely circumstances had to occur.

Freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe injured his ankle during pregame warmups and was unable to play which pushed Charles Matthews into his third career start. More importantly as it turned out, it provided an opportunity for Richmond, Ky., native Dominique Hawkins to see significant minutes.

Hawkins entered the game averaging just 1.7 points per game, but he outdid his average after just one shot. Trailing 24-19 after three straight Louisville three’s and a free throw, Ulis found Hawkins for an open three, cutting the lead to just two.

Later in the half, with the game tied at 30, Calipari was called for a technical after disagreeing with a foul call. Louisville sunk all four free throws to take a 34-30 lead.

With the momentum at the end of the half starting to fall Louisville’s way, Hawkins stepped up once again. The junior guard knocked down another three to make it a one point game. The next possession fellow Kentucky native Derek Willis took a charge, giving Kentucky the momentum once again. The Wildcats went on to outscore Louisville 14-2 to take a 44-36 lead into the break.

“It was a big game,” Hawkins said. “I’m so glad I was able to get the opportunity to play in this game today. This was a huge rivalry game and I know what it means to Kentucky folks so I think everyone's pretty happy today.”

Kentucky went to Poythress early and often to start the second half. After scoring eight points in the first half, including one emphatic dunk in the lane, Poythress scored six of the Wildcats’ first eight points to start the half.

“We put Alex in the middle and told him to attack,” Calipari said. “That’s what he did. Then I love the fact that Tyler just threw him the ball down low and he posted and he was—Alex is an elite athlete. Be that guy. Just play. Be that guy. Did you see the block he had coming down in front of our bench? It was ridiculous. Only Superman can make that play. And he made it.”

Kentucky’s big lead in the second half was uncharacteristic of a series that has seen the final score decided by less than 10 points eight out of the last nine meetings.

With 9:04 left in the game, the Cardinals began to make their run. Louisville’s Chinanu Onuaku scored on a lay-in to cut the deficit to six, but freshman guard Jamal Murray provided some foreshadowing of future events.

Murray had missed his first eight shots from the field, but drilled an open three-pointer to push the Wildcats’ lead back to nine. After two free throws from Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell, Murray hit another three to push the lead to 10.

After that however, Louisville went on a 7-0 run and cut the lead to one after Lee hit a three from straight away.

It was there that Ulis hit another clutch shot. With the shot clock winding down, Ulis forced a three from NBA range that connected to push the lead back to 68-64.

“The clock was running down,” Ulis said. “I had no choice but to shoot it. I shot it in rhythm and it went in.”

Not to be outdone however, Hawkins hit another three with 2:47 left to give the Wildcats a five point lead. He would hit two more free throws to give Kentucky a 75-70 lead.

Louisville would score three more points, but Lee’s last shot was no good, giving the Wildcats the win.

“I thought our guys did a great job coming out and competing in the second half,” Calipari said. “They made some really, really tough shots, shots that normally you wouldn’t want to take in that kind of situation. But they made them and you’ve got to give them credit. They did a great job.”

Notes:

-Kentucky now leads the all-time series 34-15 over Louisville.

-Saturday’s win over Louisville gave John Calipari his 200th win in his Wildcat coaching career.

-Kentucky’s 11 3-pointers against Louisville was a season high. The previous season high was on Dec. 19 against Ohio State, where the Wildcats hit nine 3-point shots.

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