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Hawkins comes up big in win

Whether you bleed red or blue it's every Kentuckian's dream. When you're playing in your driveway as a kid you're imagining playing in the Battle for the Bluegrass.

On Saturday, Dominique Hawkins lived that dream. The junior never imagined he would get a plethora of minutes against the Cardinals, but when Isaiah Briscoe went down he knew things were about to change.

Hawkins' contributions were key in UK's win
Hawkins' contributions were key in UK's win

"I was thinking that it is my shot and I would probably get a lot of playing time today, which I did," Hawkins said.

Hawkins played 26 minutes and finished with 13 points and three three-pointers that helped UK in a close 75-73 win over Louisville.

"It was insane," Hawkins said.

He wasn't lying, but maybe Hawkins' big game shouldn't have come as a surprise. The 6-foot, 190-pound guard has a history of coming off the bench and surprising people. As a freshman in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Hawkins played valuable minutes guarding some of the best scorers in college basketball that season.

He wasn't just defense this time, although it was what John Calipari initially asked from him.

"Coach told me to come in for defense," Hawkins said.

Although there was a caveat that wasn't there in 2014.

"But he told me if I had a wide-open shot let it go. More focused on both ends, offense and defense where in 2014 more defensive minded."

Hawkins two free throws with 1:57 to play ended up being the game winner and UK's last points. His two freebies pushed the Cats to a 75-70 lead before the Cards would make things interesting.

It could have been a completely different story for Hawkins and his dream game nearly turned into a nightmare.

With just seconds remaining in the game and the Cats up two, Hawkins passed up a wide-open three that and moments later UK was whistled for a shot-clock violation. But Hawkins wasn't discouraged.

"Just make a play on defense," Hawkins said. "… Not allow my man to make the shot on me. It'd be a lot of pressure on me but I like pressure moments."

Hawkins' man didn't score on him and no Louisville player scored as UK's bench and crowd broke out into jubilation. And while Ulis was named MVP, the Cats don't win without a strong performance from an unlikely hero.

"Never changed his emotion the whole time," Hawkins said. "He defended, he'll fight like crazy, he's got a great temperament, a great demeanor. One of the great kids of all time. "I mean literally one of the great kids."

And for such a great kid having a great game in a dream scenario, Hawkins remained professional.

"Dom doesn't show much emotion," Tyler Ulis said. "He's happy, obviously because we got this win and he played great personally."

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