Kentucky vs. St. Joe's: The Other Stuff From The Game
Kentucky beat St. Joe’s last night, 96-88, in an unexpected Monday night thriller in Rupp Arena. The overtime victory was a big night for DJ Wagner, who took a step forward for a second straight game with a career-high 22 points and a great night at the foul line. Tre Mitchell shined, too. The Wildcats may not have won that game without his putback dunk to give Kentucky the lead late in regulation or his nine points in overtime. The other veteran, Antonio Reeves, also filled it up with 20, giving UK its first trio of 20-point scorers in a single game since Cousins, Wall, and Patterson almost 14 years ago to the day.
Beyond the basketball, Monday night provided some fun moments throughout the arena and on the TV and radio broadcasts. So, on this Feast Week day after a game, let’s note some of those side items from Kentucky–St. Joe’s last night.
The St. Joe’s Hawk Is A Machine
With St. Joe’s came the hardest-working mascot in sports, The Hawk, known for flapping its wings throughout every St. Joe’s basketball game in their entirety. The tradition began in 1956, and every Hawk mascot ever since has had to keep those arms moving for the entire game. For their arm strength, the Hawk mascot is considered a member of the basketball team.
It really is a remarkable feat of strength and endurance.
Ryan Lemond Shoutout
Outside of the game, the biggest piece of news from Monday was Ryan Lemond revealing on KSR that he suffered a fractured jaw when he was sucker-punched by a college student at South Carolina. SEC Network’s Tom Hart heard about Ryan’s misfortune and worked it into the Kentucky-St. Joe’s broadcast last night.
Tom said, “It was a street fight in Columbia, SC–more ways than one, I suppose. Kentucky came out of there battered and bruised, didn’t know what hit them.”
Well done, Tom.
Joe Lunardi In The House
Also from the broadcast, Tom Hart was joined by ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who was in attendance at last night’s game in Rupp Arena. Lunardi chimed in early in the second half with comments about the game, the big picture, and more.
He didn’t have a lot to say regarding Kentucky’s resume because, you know, it was the fifth game of the year. But, Lunardi came to the defense of Calipari by pointing out how Calipari performs better in the tournament than many other coaches, including past UK greats Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith.
He said, “There’s no shortage of banners here, obviously, in Rupp Arena. But interacting with the fan base of Kentucky as I am known to do, you know there’s been some rumbling in recent years and I thought, well, what is the data actually say? And it works out pretty well for (Calipari).”
An on-screen graphic showed Calipari has more wins than expected wins based on the seed line.
And if you’re wondering why we heard from Lunardi in November, he was in the building because he’s done radio analysis for St. Joe’s, his alma mater, for over 30 years. He was there as a Hawk.
Jack Givens’ Message To DJ Wagner
DJ Wagner earned a seat next to Jack “Goose” Givens on the postgame radio show for his 22-point breakout game against St. Joe’s. As the interview concluded, Goose took a moment to give Wagner some player-to-player respect for playing a heady game.
“As a former player, I just love the fact that you keep working on your game,” Givens told Wagner. “A lot of young players now would just be complacent and be happy with where they are. You keep working because you’re going to be on the next level one of these days. Congratulations on the big game.”
I loved hearing the cross-generational love between Wildcat guards.
More on DJ Wagner’s big step forward.
Antonio Reeves’ Birthday Party
Antonio Reeves celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field against St. Joe’s. He didn’t miss a 3-point try, hitting all three attempts in the game.
The performance likely made those brownies taste even sweeter.
KSR’s Kentucky-St. Joe’s Photo Gallery
BBN Really Liked This Shot From The Broadcast
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