Cats roll "pass" Dillard 122-54

Terrence Jones has a stat stuffing game as he led the Kentucky Wildcats to a blowout win over Dillard in Rupp Arena.

Kentucky's passing picked apart the Dillard defense for most of the game as the Cats dished out 28 assists en route to steamrolling Dillard.

Terrence Jones led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Knight scored 20 and Jon Hood added 18 for the Cats.

Jones was the story of the game. After a shaky exhibition debut on Monday night the talented freshman came out with more energy and more confidence against Dillard. Jones was everywhere, blocking shots on defense, handling the ball, making slice and dice baskets, running the floor and finishing at the basket. Rumor has it that along with the 30 minutes of play he spent 10 minutes selling popcorn and cokes.

In addition to the double-double Jones racked up he had four assists, six blocks and three steals.

Jon Hood came off the bench to score his points. A dozen of those came by way of Hood's dialing long distance to the tune of 4 of 6 from behind the arc. Hood also dished out four assists, some of which led to rim rattling dunks for teammates.

Knight dropped six dimes, and was very unselfish in giving the ball up to teammates. After a rough first half saw Doron Lamb pick up three fouls Lamb got his sidekick on the scoreboard with a nifty move in the lane to free himself, then kicking the ball to an open Lamb in the corner on a fastbreak. Knight could easily have driven for an easy deuce. With the three in his pocket Lamb went on to net two more baskets to end the game with seven points.

Junior Darius Miller carried the Cats in the early going. Miller shook himself free for one of his patented soft pull up jumpers and hit a three when his team was in need of someone to make shots. Miller finished the game with a very solid line as he scored twelve points and grabbed 8 caroms, barely missing a double-double. Miller also handed out five assists, picked the pockets of Dillard players four times, and rejected a pair of shots.

Miller's classmate, DeAndre Liggins, scored 13 points for the Cats, and grabbed 6 boards. Kentucky's lone senior, Josh Harrellson, also scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards, and did it with a perfect shooting night. Harrellson was 6 of 6 from the field, and hit his lone charity toss. Many of Harrellson's baskets came by way of assists from his teammates.

Eloy Vargas also cracked double digits with ten points. It was the one that got away that Vargas may remember most. Following a nifty pass from a mate Vargas was positioned to go up to put away a dunk. A Dillard player knocked the ball away from Vargas before he could elevate, drawing the wrath of John Calipari and earning Vargas some pine time to contemplate the importance of going up strong with the ball.

After shooting an anemic 1-11 from behind the arc against Pikeville the Cats bounced back to shoot 58% from long distance against Dillard on 11-19 shooting. Overall Kentucky hit 48-69 field goal attempts, good for 70%.

Every Wildcat scored on this evening, as Stacey Poole finished with five points in 8 minutes, and Jarrod Polson wrapped up the scoring with a made free throw to his credit.

The Wildcats now have one week to prepare for the regular season opener next Friday at Rupp Arena when they host East Tennessee State.