LEXINGTON, Kent. – Utah Valley University made a run at No. 4/5 Kentucky before eventually falling, 73-63, on the opening night of the college basketball season on Friday night at historic Rupp Arena. UVU now heads to Durham, North Carolina for the second half what's been dubbed the toughest 24 hours in college basketball history to face top-ranked Duke on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on the ACC Network and Watch ESPN and heard on the radio on ESPN 960 AM.
The Wolverines (0-1) led by as much as 12 points in the second half, when
Kenneth Ogbe converted on a three-point play with a dunk and a free throw, but the Wildcats (1-0) took control of the game on the strength of an 18-0 run. The run turned a 37-25 UVU lead into a 43-37 advantage for Kentucky.
"First of all, we're really grateful to have the opportunity to be here at this extraordinary university and play against this great program," said Utah Valley head coach
Mark Pope, who received a welcome ovation from the UK crowd after bringing his Wolverines back to where he helped the Wildcats win an NCAA Championship in 1996.
"Coach Calipari and the whole crew were very gracious for allowing us to do that. We're certainly very disappointed with the outcome. I believe we have a really good team. I love my guys, I love my locker room, and I believe we can do way better than this. That's why we came here. Kentucky is obviously a great team, and they're going to be great all year, but I'm proud of my guys," Pope said.
"What he's (Pope) doing in the WAC they're moving up, moving up, moving up, and that's what you try to do when you take over a program," said Kentucky head coach John Calipari. "And I can't imagine that that whole state was rocking in the first half. And I would imagine even after the game they walk away and say, you know what, we're going to be all right."
Ogbe led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points while
Jake Toolson added 11 points and three others chipped in 10.
Akolda Manyang blocked five shots to go along with six points and six rebounds while
Isaac Neilson scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, as Utah Valley out-rebounded Kentucky, 38-37.
Conner Toolson and
Brandon Randolph also scored 10 points apiece, while Randolph dished out seven assists.
Hamidou Diallo led all scorers with 18 points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 13. Wenyen Gabriel finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass.
In the first half, Randolph found Neilson for a lay-up that gave UVU an 18-14 advantage before Kentucky responded with nine straight points. The Wolverines answered that with nine straight behind the play of
Ben Nakwaasah, who scored a lay-up, found Ogbe for a three, and hit a pair from the line to put Utah Valley back in front, 25-23.
Randolph capped the run with a bucket and later scored the final bucket of the half on a 3-pointer that gave the Wolverine a 34-25 lead at the break. The Wolverines were plus-nine on the glass in the first half, outrebounding Kentucky, 25-16.
Out of halftime, Manyang blocked an attempt by Nick Richards on the defensive end before Ogbe went back door and took a
Jake Toolson feed for a dunk before converting the free throw that gave UVU its biggest lead before the pivotal run by the Wildcats.
Despite falling behind by 14 on two different occasions, Utah Valley was able to get as close as six, 69-63, with 15 seconds remaining on a
Jake Toolson steal and a Randolph lay-up. The Wildcats hit four free throws over the final seconds to extend it back to 10.
Both teams finished with 34 points in the paint while the Wildcats were able to turn 20 UVU turnovers into 23 points, finishing plus-seven in that category.
