Kentucky got back on track Wednesday by defeating North Florida, 96-56, while capturing the Tribute Classic, presented by Kentucky Tourism, championship with wins over Duquesne, South Carolina State and North Florida.
The No. 15/13 ranked Wildcats (4-2) have the weekend off before returning to game action on Nov. 29, at home vs. Bellarmine. Game time is 7 p.m. and it will be televised on SEC Network+.
Kentucky limited North Florida to 34.5% from the field. UK is 225-24 (90.4%) under Calipari when keeping the opponent to 40 percent or less shooting, including 4-0 this season.
The Wildcats led by as many as 47 points.
After tying his career high of 16 points vs. Gonzaga, Jacob Toppin set a new personal standard today with 20 points. He also had 10 rebounds, giving him his second double-double of the season.
“After a loss we always want to bounce back, and I think we did a good job of that,” Toppin said. “Obviously, there were some things that we could have done better. We still haven’t been good at executing plays, so we have to get better at that. Defensively, we had some break downs, but I think we were good defensively. “Offensively, we have to play like that every game,” he added. “We have to be able to spread the floor with pace, share the ball, and just make open shots when we have open shots. We’ll just get better as the season goes.”
After scoring 18 points in the opening half, Antonio Reeves finished with 20, his second 20-point game of the season. He has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season.
Oscar Tshiebwe had a stat-stuffer day with 16 points, 15 rebounds, a career-high five assists, three steals and two blocked shots. He has 31 double-doubles in 38 games at Kentucky, including three of four this season.
Freshman Cason Wallace had eight points and a game-high six assists. He has made at least one 3-pointer in each game this season and multiple threes in the last four games.
Ugonna Onyenso had seven points and tied his season high for rebounds with 10.
Kentucky never trailed, although the game was tied twice, at 2-2 and 5-5.
Tied at 5, Wallace’s 3-pointer from the right corner ignited a 9-0 run and the Wildcats led the rest of the way.
After a Tshiebwe steal, Reeves hit a pullup 3-pointer at the buzzer — his fourth long ball of the half — giving Kentucky its largest lead of the opening stanza, a 54-23 halftime advantage. It is UK’s most points in a first half this season.
The Wildcats steadily built their lead in the second half, and eventually led by as many as 47 points at 90-43. North Florida scored the final six points of the game to reach the final score.
