BY The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It was only appropriate that Kentucky walk-on Steve Masiello was featured on the cover on the game program of Thursday's mismatch between the No. 4 Wildcats and Mercer.
In what could be his biggest dose of playing time this season, Masiello played nearly four minutes as Kentucky cruised to an 82-51 win Thursday night.
Masiello's driving layup and subsequent free throw with 3:37 remaining gave Kentucky a 73-40 lead and was one of the few plays that brought a generally quiet Rupp Arena crowd to its feet.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith groused about free throws - the Wildcats were just 11-of-20 from the line - and lack of concentration in the second half, when Kentucky outscored Mercer by only one point, but in the end there wasn't much to get excited about.
"We haven't played the caliber of competition we'll face from here on out," Smith acknowledged, referring to this week's easy wins over Eastern Kentucky and Mercer.
The Wildcats led by 30 points at halftime and coasted home from there. Wayne Turner and freshman Jules Camara had 15 points each to lead the Wildcats (2-0).
Turner shot 7-of-11 from the field and hit four long-range jumpers, including a 3-pointer.
"I was thinking that when I got an open shot to go ahead and take it, to not hesitate," he said.
Kentucky led 49-19 at halftime, and the second-half highlights were provided by Masiello and the Wildcats' freshmen.
The Wildcats scored their final points with 19.2 seconds left on a lob from Masiello to a high-flying Camara. The 6-foot-11 forward from Senegal, who had eight rebounds on the night, slammed it home, bringing the few remaining fans to their feet a final time.
In his first college game, on Tuesday, Camara had 10 points and 11 rebounds against Eastern Kentucky.
Kentucky guard Saul Smith continued to struggle on offense. Two nights after going 0-for-5 from the field against Eastern Kentucky, Smith took just two shots in 19 minutes, though he did hand out five assists.
Tubby Smith said after the game that his son's start at shooting guard actually was a mistake. The coach said he meant to start Prince, but an assistant submitted the wrong lineup card.
MERCER (51)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
E Davis 20 2-9 0-0 0-4 1 2 5
Adamson 30 3-6 0-0 5-11 1 2 6
Lawyer 21 4-10 0-1 3-6 0 3 8
Brown 32 4-13 0-0 0-0 2 1 8
Mccray 33 2-9 1-1 0-2 5 2 5
Stallworth 17 2-7 1-2 3-4 0 4 5
Kirtz 20 2-10 0-1 1-2 0 0 6
Muhammad 10 2-2 0-0 1-3 0 1 4
Mcmillan 7 1-1 0-0 1-3 0 1 2
Pickles 2 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Ott 6 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2
Golden 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Doyley 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 23-72 2-5 14-36 9 18 51
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Percentages: FG-.319, FT-.400. 3-Point Goals:
3-20, .150 (E Davis 1-3, Brown 0-5, Mccray 0-3,
Stallworth 0-1, Kirtz 2-7, Doyley 0-1). Team
rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 2 (Adamson,
Stallworth). Turnovers: 21 (Adamson 5, Brown 3, E
Davis 3, Mccray 3, Kirtz 2, Lawyer, Pickles,
Stallworth). Steals: 7 (Kirtz 2, Adamson, Brown,
Lawyer, Mccray, Stallworth).
KENTUCKY (82)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Evans 22 4-10 1-2 5-6 5 2 11
Padgett 22 3-7 3-4 0-6 2 1 9
Bradley 25 5-7 2-5 2-5 2 1 12
Smith 19 1-2 0-0 0-3 5 1 3
Turner 22 7-11 0-0 1-3 3 1 15
Prince 22 2-7 0-0 2-8 1 0 5
Camara 21 7-9 1-2 2-8 1 3 15
Allison 19 2-3 2-4 1-2 1 2 6
Tackett 12 1-6 1-2 1-6 1 0 3
Blevins 12 0-3 0-0 1-1 1 1 0
Masiello 4 1-3 1-1 0-0 1 1 3
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TOTALS 200 33-68 11-20 15-48 23 13 82
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Percentages: FG-.485, FT-.550. 3-Point Goals:
5-22, .227 (Evans 2-5, Padgett 0-2, Smith 1-2,
Turner 1-3, Prince 1-4, Allison 0-1, Tackett 0-2,
Blevins 0-2, Masiello 0-1). Team rebounds: 2.
Blocked shots: 5 (Camara 4, Prince). Turnovers:
14 (Padgett 3, Blevins 2, Bradley 2, Evans 2,
Tackett 2, Allison, Smith). Steals: 5 (Allison,
Camara, Evans, Smith, Turner).
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Mercer 19 32 - 51
Kentucky 49 33 - 82
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Technical fouls: None. A: 21,101. Officials:
Andre Patillo, Tom Lopes, R.t. Day.
