No one could have blamed the Kentucky men’s basketball team if they had not been in a proper mindset for Thursday’s exhibition game against Kentucky State. After all, it had been a difficult week, both physically and mentally, for the Cats.
Kentucky has a number of players out of the lineup due to injuries. Among those are defending National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and preseason first-team All-SEC point guard Sahvir Wheeler.
On Tuesday, the team got the news that Ben Collins, father of UK sophomore forward Daimion Collins, had passed away. It was a tough blow for the tight-knit team to see one of their own dealing with the loss of a parent.
But the Cats showed no signs of their minds being anywhere but Rupp Arena once the game started. Kentucky State scored first, but Kentucky answered with a 16-2 run over the course of 3:22 to put this one away early. UK would place six players in double figures on its way to a convincing 111-53 victory over KSU on Thursday night at Rupp Arena.
Antonio Reeves paced the Cats with 23 points, hitting five of 10 from beyond the arc. Jacob Toppin had 21 points, while CJ Fredrick and Chris Livingston each had 14. Cason Wallace scored 12 points and Lance Ware added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Next Game
Kentucky vs Troy (On time)
