Kentucky Defeats Germany 81-73

Kentucky coach John Calipari's postgame press conference

Kentucky players Tre Mitchell, Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner in postgame interviews

Click here for Box Score

Compiled by UK Athletics

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES KENTUCKY vs. GERMANY GLOBL JAM | TORONTO, ONTARIO | MATTAMY ATHLETIC CENTRE JULY 12, 2023

FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 81, Germany 73

• This was Kentucky’s first exhibition game of the GLOBL JAM FIBA event. UK will play three additional games during the tour.

• The Wildcats return to the court on Thursday vs. Canada. That game will tip at 8 p.m. and air on tape delay at midnight on CBS Sports Network.

• Kentucky is 147-12 all-time in exhibition games and has won 26 straight. UK is 44-1 in exhibition contests under head coach John Calipari.

First-Quarter Facts

• Kentucky’s starting lineup featured D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero and Tre Mitchell.

• After yielding a bucket on the opening possession, the Cats went on an 8-0 run to grab an 8-2 lead. Reeves scored the team’s first points on the second of two free throws, followed by a floater from Wagner, a traditional 3-point play from Thiero and then a terrific give-and-go from Mitchell to Wagner.

• Rob Dillingham was UK’s first sub of the game, coming in at the first timeout with UK leading 8-5.

• Wagner found his way to the rim and then Mitchell drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to lift Kentucky to a 13-7 edge with 3:40 to play in the first quarter.

• Reed Sheppard and Jordan Burks entered the game for the first time following the timeout at 3:40.

• Germany reclaimed the lead at 17-15 with just under a minute to play on an and-one play of its own.

• Dillingham answered with a jumper from the left wing to knot the score at 17 at the end of the opening frame.

Second-Quarter Story

• Germany sunk consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half to take its largest lead at 23-17.

• UK got it back to within one at 26-25 at the 4:38 mark. Sheppard forced a backcourt turnover and found a racing Wagner for a dunk to prompt a timeout from the Germans.

• Out of the break, Sheppard’s pressure induced another turnover by Germany which led to a Reeves 3-pointer and a 28-26 lead for the Cats.

• After Germany snuck ahead 36-35, Kentucky scored the final four points of the stanza and finished off the quarter with a block from Thiero for a 39-36 edge.

• Reeves led the Cats with 13 points in the opening half and Wagner had eight.

• Kentucky forced nine steals, with Sheppard and Wagner both responsible for a pair.

• Reeves also led the way on the boards with four, while Thiero had a pair of blocks.

Third-Quarter Tidbits

• UK opened the second half with a lineup featuring the same starting five.

• Mitchell opened the second with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

• After Germany closed the gap to 47-45, but Thiero kept a play alive, and Mitchell found Reeves for his third 3-pointer of the game. Thiero then snatched a steal off a rebound and drew a foul before lifting UK to a 51-45 edge with 6:12 remaining in the quarter with a free throw.

• Reeves hit the 20-point mark with a jumper with 4:03 remaining.

• Sheppard found Burks off an inbounds play for a dunk with just one second remaining on the shot clock to push UK’s advantage to 14 with just under 45 seconds to go in the stanza.

• Mitchell’s 11 points in the quarter led the way for UK, which outscored Germany by nine points in the quarter and led by 12 going into the final period.

Fourth-Quarter Findings

• Wagner drained a 3-pointer off a great find from Burks to give UK its largest lead of the game at 16 with 8:47 to go.

• UK maintained a double-digit lead until Germany cut the deficit to seven with 1:17 to play.

• Reeves responded with a driving layup and then made two free throws down the stretch to hold off the comeback.

Team Notes

• Kentucky scored 27 points off of 22 German turnovers.

  • UK had 10 total steals and five blocks.

• UK’s largest lead was 16 points.

• The Cats totaled 24 assists on 31 made field goals while turning the ball over 13 times.

• The Wildcats won the battle in the paint, outscoring Germany 36-18 in points in the paint.

Player Notes

• Antonio Reeves led all scorers with 24 points and made three 3-pointers.

• Tre Mitchell added 20 points behind four 3-pointers, while also hauling in six boards.

• Adou Thiero posted nine points, seven boards, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

• D.J. Wagner had 16 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

• Justin Edwards had a team-high nine rebounds while also chipping in with four points and four assists.

• Despite not scoring, Reed Sheppard contributed to all facets of the game with six assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals.