Kevin Knox leads Kentucky basketball over Davidson in Round of 64
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky basketball team had a 13-point lead early in the first half. Davidson roared back in the second half to tie the game, but Kevin Knox was clutch, leading the Cats with 25 points. Kentucky won the game 78-73.
The Kentucky basketball team allowed a 13-point lead to evaporate in the second half. Kentucky missed all of its three-point shots, breaking a 1,047 game streak of made three-point shots, but the Cats won 78-73. Kevin Knox led Kentucky in scoring 78-73. UK advanced to the Round of 32. Kentucky will play either Arizona or Buffalo.
The Kentucky basketball team was 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the field early, but Davidson’s outside shooting kept them close. Kentucky and Davidson were tied at 17 midway through the first half. PJ Washington started thee game 3-of-4 from the field, including a two-handed flush and a powerful and-1 in traffic.
At the under-8 minute timeout, UK led Davidson 22-17. Of Kentucky’s first 22 points, 16 of them scored in the paint. A 15-4 run by the Cats gave Kentucky an 11-point lead at the under-4 minute TV timeout. Kentucky’s defense in the first half was absolutely overwhelming Davidson.
Sacha Killeya-Jones was consistently crashing the defensive glass during the first half. Killeya-Jones had 5 rebounds before the teams retreated to the locker room. UK outscored Davidson 26-10 in the paint. Washington led the Cats in scoring during the first half with 11. Kentucky led Davidson at the half by 10 points, 34-24.
Davidson went on a 6-2 run to start the second half, but an alley oop from Shai Gilegous-Alexander to Kiellya-Jones put a stop to that mini-spurt. Davidson then began to knock down shots. Jon Axel Gundmundsson was 3-of-3 from downtown to start the second half, and Davidson cut UK’s lead to 3 before the under-16 minute timeout.
Gundmundsson knocked down his 4th three-pointer of the half to cut the Cats lead to 1. Knox then converted a bucket on the other end of the court to give UK its 3 point advantage back. Washington picked up a critical 4th foul with 11:12 left in the game and took a seat in favor of Wenyen Gabriel.
After a breakaway dunk by Gilgeous-Alexander, Gundmundsson hit yet another three-pointer to tie the game at 52. The Kentucky basketball team began playing some scrappy defense and regained a 57-54 lead. After an intense back-and-forth battle down the stretch, Kentucky crept its lead to 4. Then with 1:55 left, Kevin Knox came off a curl and knocked down a mid-range jumper shot. The Cats took a 65-59 lead.
Kentucky took possession on a great play by Gabriel and Gilgeous-Alexander. Wenyen knocked the ball loose and Shai tied it up. UK gained possession. Gilgeous-Alexander and Knox converted their free throws down the stretch and UK advanced to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.