By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky gave No. 4 Kansas all it could handle before the Jayhawks escaped with a 65-61 victory in the annual State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago Tuesday night.
The loss was the first of the season for Kentucky, which won its first two games by a combined margin of 14 points, including a 73-69 victory over Vermont Sunday.
Kentucky trailed 61-59 with 33 seconds remaining, but Kevin Knox missed a baseline jumper. Malik Newman made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining to clinch it for the Jayhawks.
Knox paced Kentucky’s attack with 20 points and seven rebounds. Knox was a big factor in the first half and drained three shots from log range and led the Wildcats with 12 points.
Hamidou Diallo followed Knox with 14 points. Kentucky was outrebounded 24-13 in the first 20 minutes, but battled back and held a 26-14 edge in the second half that enabled Kentucky to stay within striking distance.
Kansas led by 11 early in the first half, but Kentucky recovered from the double-digit deficit and forced 12 lead changes and 10 ties throughout the contest.
The Wildcats had 18 turnovers and got a solid effort off the bench from Sacha Killeya-Jones, who finished with eight points and grabbed nine rebounds. Although he struggled offensively with just two points, Nick Richards grabbed nine rebounds.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk led Kansas with 17 points, followed by Udoka Azubuike with 13 and Malik Newman with 12. Devonte Graham added 11 points.
In the opener, Duke senior Grayson Allen scored career-high 37 points to lead the top-ranked Blue Devils (3-0) to an 88-81 victory over No. 2 Michigan State. The Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season and fell to 1-1.
Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Nick Ward each had 19 points for the Spartans, who finished with 12 blocked shots, one shy of the school record.
Guard commits to Cats
Shooting Tyler Herro committed to play for the Wildcats Tuesday night, giving Kentucky three signees in the Class of 2018.
Immanuel Quickly, a point guard and Keldon Johnson, a shooting prospect have already committed to play for Kentucky next season.
Herro, a senior at Whitnall High School in Wisconsin, chose Kentucky over Wisconsin, Kansas, Oregon and Villanova. As a junior last season, Herro averaged 23.2 points per game and shot 39 percent from the 3-point line.
Gametracker: East Tennessee State at Kentucky, 7 p.m., Friday. TV/Radio: SEC Network, 98.1 FM, WBUL, Lexington.
Keith Taylor is sports editor for Kentucky Today. Reach him at keith.taylor@kentuckytoday.com or twitter @keithtaylor21.
