3 Headed Monster: Backcourt Sparks Kentucky Basketball Win
The trio of Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, and Tyrese Maxey led Kentucky Basketball to a 78-64 victory over Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Greek mythology had Cerberus. Godzilla had Monster Zero. Kentucky basketball has its trio of starting guards, Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, and Tyrese Maxey.
All are three-headed monsters, and all are darn near impossible to beat!
Kentucky Basketball used their beast of a backcourt to slay Vanderbilt (9-15, 1-10 in the SEC) in Nashville on Tuesday evening. The trio combined for 54 points, sparking the best second half of basketball that the Cats have played this season.
Kentucky trailed at the half by 9. The Cats outscored Vandy 51-28 in the second half, with Hagans, Quickley, and Maxey chipping in 19 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals, and two blocks while only turning the ball over 5 times.
Welcome back Ashton Hagans
Ashton Hagans got back on track against the Commodores!
Since the Georgia victory, Hagans has struggled with managing his turnovers, committing 22 in his last 5 games while dishing out only 25 assists.
Hagans nearly had a triple-double on Tuesday night, scoring 11 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds, all the while dropping eight dimes.
Most importantly, Hagans had only one turnover.
It was Hagans’ aggressive drives to the basket in the second half that helped Kentucky Basketball overtake Vandy. Hagans sparked a run of 26-10 to energize the Cats out of the locker room. Once the Cats took the second-half lead, they would not relinquish it.
Quickley has the magic touch
Immanuel Quickley came into Nashville on fire, averaging 18.8 points per game in his last five contests for Kentucky Basketball.
Vandy had no answer for Quickley, who continued his scorching hot shooting, scoring 18 points. He shot 3-4 from downtown and was a perfect 7-7 on his free throws. Quickley also added 5 boards, 3 assists, and a steal.
Quickley was part of a staunch defensive effort from Kentucky Basketball in the second half. Vandy’s eight three-point shots in the first half were the catalyst for the Commodores nine-point lead going into the second half, as Kentucky Basketball struggled with the spacing of the Commodores’ offensive sets.
Then, John Calipari made his second-half adjustments. Quickley and the Cats locked down in the second half, allowing only three second-half threes from Vandy and holding the Commodores to 37% shooting for the game.
Kentucky Basketball got maximum effort from Maxey
Tyrese Maxey had it working versus Vanderbilt in the Kentucky Basketball victory at Rupp over the Commodores a couple of weeks ago.
Maxey was even hotter in Nashville. Maxey led Kentucky basketball with 25 points on 10 of 17 shooting, including going 3-4 from downtown.
Maxey’s defense has improved over the last several SEC games, and his defense spearheaded the Cats second-half turnaround. Maxey snatched 2 steals and added 2 blocks.
Kentucky Basketball erased 12 shots, overall. The Cats had their best shot-blocking effort as a team since they blocked 13 shots versus Lamar in late November.
The efforts from Nick Richards and E.J. Montgomery can not be ignored. Richards added 12 points and seven rebounds with three blocks before fouling out. Montgomery shot a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line, and contributed 6 points and 9 boards to go with his 3 blocks.