FINAL: No. 14 Kentucky escapes Atlanta with 87-83 win over No. 9 North Carolina

No. 9 North Carolina only led for 16 seconds all game long, but the Tar Heels still nearly found a way to steal the win from No. 14 Kentucky on Saturday night. Instead, impressive poise by the Wildcats’ freshmen allowed Kentucky to escape Atlanta with a massive, resume-building 87-83 victory over UNC in the CBS Sports Classic.

Behind four players in double-figures, Kentucky led from nearly start to finish. UK only shot 42 percent from the field compared to 47 percent from North Carolina, but 12 more offensive rebounds for the ‘Cats played a significant role in the outcome. Rob Dillingham fueled Kentucky with 17 points while DJ Wagner chipped in 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Two more freshmen, Reed Sheppard and Aaron Bradshaw, added 11 and 12 points, respectively.

RJ Davis did all he could for North Carolina, dropping 27 points in 38 minutes. Cormac Ryan wasn’t far behind with 20 of his own. But Kentucky got contributions from everyone, including sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso, who made his season debut. Onyenso only scored one point but blocked three shots in his 10 minutes. UK did an excellent job of limiting All-ACC center Armando Bacot, who finished with just nine points.

Kentucky came out of the gates ready to play, leading for nearly all of the first half. A quick 11-4 advantage for the Wildcats set the tone early on. Kentucky actually went up by double-figures multiple times in the opening half, but could never push the lead past 11 points. Two personal fouls on UK’s main bigs, Tre Mitchell and Bradshaw, gave North Carolina life down the stretch.

The Tar Heels would find a rhythm during the closing minutes of the first half. Kentucky’s 40-30 lead with 2:45 until the intermission was trimmed down to just a two-point game at the break thanks to an 8-0 run by UNC. It was an uncharacteristically sloppy half from UK with nine first-half turnovers.

North Carolina’s Cormac Ryan led all scorers at halftime with 12 points on 5-6 shooting, while four Wildcats were up to seven. Crashing the glass (eight offensive rebounds) and protecting the rim (seven blocks) proved to be the early difference for Kentucky after 20 minutes of action.

The ‘Cats didn’t let UNC’s late first-half run deter them though. Carolina would strike first to begin the second half, but Kentucky immediately rattled off seven straight to regain the momentum. UK followed that up soon after with an 8-0 run that made it a 12-point lead at the first media timeout. But again, the Tar Heels responded.

Kentucky continued to hold a double-digit advantage with 11 minutes to go before North Carolina made another run. Just a few minutes later, UK’s lead was chopped down to just three after an and-one from RJ Davis. UNC would finally take its first lead of the night after a pair of free throws by Armando Bacot with 5:15 to go in the game.

It wouldn’t last long though. Kentucky threw a big punch in the form of a 6-0 run that forced North Carolina into a timeout. At the final media timeout, UK was in front 77-72, but UNC then made it a two-point deficit with roughly 70 seconds to go. Bradshaw had a chance to increase the lead at the free-throw but would miss the front end of the one-and-one.

Somehow, his miss fell right into Antonio Reeves‘ lap. Kentucky called timeout up by two with just 49 ticks on the clock. Mitchell missed a corner three-pointer but Bradshaw was there to catch the airball and was fouled on his way up. The freshman would hit both freebies to give UK a four-point lead. One more timely free throw from Dillingham all but iced the massive Kentucky victory.