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No. 16 Kentucky found itself in a tussle on Saturday. A spirited Yale team scored the first eight points of the second half to turn a six-point halftime deficit into a two-point lead with 17:37 left to play.
Kentucky needed something better to happen. So the Cats and head coach John Calipari did exactly what made sense – they got the defending national player of the year, Oscar Shibway, the ball.
And, as he did so often last season for the Cats, Tshibwe delivered. He made a layup, then a dunk to give UK the lead back. He was also fouled on the play and converted the free throw to extend the lead to 38-35.
But it wasn’t just on offense. On Yale’s next possession, Tshiebwe blocked a shot, corralled a rebound, then ran the floor and was rewarded when C.J. Frederick found the big man inside for a layup.
After Yele got three from Baez Mbeng, Tshibwe scored again. Then, the big man got a steal on a Yale possession and converted on another shot at the rim at the other end, giving UK a 44-38 advantage.
Tshibwe would make one of two layups with 13:58 to play, giving the Cats a five-point lead and UK’s first 12 points of the second half. Cate scored another goal in the next 20 minutes until Sahveer Wheeler scored with 13:15 left in the half.
UK head coach John Calipari knew some things weren’t going to happen in 20 minutes.
“A few things happened in the first half. (Tshiebwe) did not demand the ball. You have to say something,” Calipari said. “The other thing, in the first half, when he had a shot, he was passing it. I said quit passing the ball and score the ball, they can’t save you.
And, the other part of it was, when Tshibwe asked for the ball, he didn’t always get it.
“Then I told the other guys, you’ve got to throw him the ball,” Calipari said. “You guys are driving and he’s in the middle, wide open, throw him the ball.”
Tshibwe scored 33 of his runs as the Cats cruised to a 69-59 victory.rd Double-double in 41 career games at UK. Tshiebwe finished with 28 points, two shy of his career high, and 12 rebounds in Saturday’s win. He scored 22 of his points in the second half and added two assists, two steals and two blocked shots in the game. And the cats needed every one of them.
Kentucky has this week off, as the Cats take a final test before facing UCLA in Saturday’s CBS Sports Classic in New York. Tipoff is set for approximately 5:15 ET.
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