TORONTO — The Kentucky Wildcats crossed the border to represent Team USA, and they've already earned one win for the States. The Cats defeated Team Germany 81-73 in their first game of the Globl Jam tournament in Toronto, Canada Wednesday.
Despite this team's heavily-emphasized youth, Kentucky's veterans came to play Wednesday afternoon; the two, fifth-year seniors led the way for the Wildcats. Antonio Reeves finished as UK's leading scorer with 24 points, followed by Tre Mitchell with 20 points on 7-13 shooting (4-6 from the three-point line).
DJ Wagner was Mr. Do It All for the Cats, with a jam-packed stat line of: 16 points, six assists, two blocks, two steals and two rebounds against Team Germany. Justin Edwards secured the most rebounds by any Wildcats, with nine boards to go along with four points; Adou Thiero had a strong showing with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
"We've got a bunch of competitors, which is good," John Calipari said on the broadcast following the win.
The game featured an interesting combination of lineups for the Cats, who were without Aaron Bradshaw (who had foot surgery earlier this summer and did not travel to Toronto with the team) and Ugonna Onyenso (who injured his ankle during Kentucky's friendly Tuesday).
At the end of yesterday’s scrimmage, Ugonna hurt his ankle. He’s not going to play today and we will have to see if he can do anything the rest of the week. I am proud of how he played yesterday against Africa. He had six blocks and impacted the game in a positive way.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 12, 2023
It took some time for Kentucky to settle into their first game of the season, and the game was tied at 17 after the first quarter. Wagner was the game's leading scorer at that point with six points.
Reeves started heating up in the second quarter, when he rattled off five consecutive points to help the Cats take off on a 16-2 run and regain the lead. He finished the first half with 13 points, and Team USA led 39-36.
Tone is heating up 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZlPt9XDQVJ
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 12, 2023
The Cats pulled away in the third quarter but Team Germany clawed back in the fourth, getting as close as six.
On the day, the Cats shot 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep, while Team Germany connected on 26-74 shots for 35 percent from the floor. They outrebounded the Cats 50-46.
Kentucky will return to Mattamy Athletic Centre Thursday evening at 8 p.m. ET to take on Team Canada. Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the radio call for the UK Sports Radio Network, while the game will be shown on tape delay at midnight ET on the CBS Sports Network.
For more on the game, watch BBN Tonight weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on LEX 18 News and BBNTonight.com
