LEXINGTON, Ky. -- As top-ranked Kentucky develops in small steps, the on-court relationship between Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox is clearly off and running.
Monk (Bentonville) scored 23 points and Fox had 16 points and 11 assists to propel the Wildcats to a 101-70 rout of Cleveland State on Wednesday that was impressive on several fronts.
With leading scorer Isaiah Briscoe sidelined by a back injury, the freshman duo picked up the slack and did it quickly, helping Kentucky (5-0) roll to a 16-2 lead that was never threatened in its first game this season as the nation's No. 1 team. They combined for 31 first-half points alone, with 19 from Monk, whose 4-for-4 start from long range and 8-of-12 shooting overall helped him match his career scoring best set last week against Michigan State.
"We played well," Fox said. "Without Isaiah today, people stepped up and we ended up getting the win."
They combined for 15 assists -- including 10 in the first half -- and 7 rebounds with 2 steals apiece, looking to each other when Kentucky was in transition.
Which was often.
"We have great chemistry," Monk said. "Although we never played that much together, we know where we are on the court. That's another thing that makes this team so close."
Their chemistry was evident in the first half when Monk stole the ball near midcourt and drove toward the basket before bouncing the ball off the glass perfectly back to the trailing Fox, whose thunderous dunk brought a roar from the crowd of 22,441 at Rupp Arena.
Bam Adebayo added 14 points and seven rebounds while Mychal Mulder matched a career high with 13 for Kentucky.
Rob Edwards' 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting led Cleveland State (1-3), which couldn't keep up with the Wildcats on either end. The Vikings committed 19 turnovers, shot 39 percent and were outrebounded 47-36.
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Chris Boucher scored 21 points, Tyler Dorsey added 19 and No. 13 Oregon beat Connecticut 79-69 in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii. Oregon (4-2) lost its opener to Georgetown, but bounced back with an overtime victory over Tennessee on Dillon Brooks' long three-pointer. The Ducks wanted to get off to a fast start in their Maui finale and did just that, racing to a 15-point lead in the opening 4 1/2 minutes. UConn (2-4) chipped into the lead by halftime, but the Ducks started flying again, building the lead back up to 17. ... Al Freeman scored 15 points and came up with three baskets during a critical second-half sequence to help No. 20 Baylor beat VCU 71-63 in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas. Johnathan Motley scored a team-high 19 points before fouling out for the Bears (4-0). JeQuan Lewis had 21 points for the Rams (3-1), who went without a basket for roughly 6½ minutes during the second half. ... Sindarius Thornwell had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead South Carolina past cold-shooting and 25th-ranked Michigan 61-46. The Gamecocks improved to 5-0 for a second consecutive season and knocked off their first ranked opponent since an 81-78 victory at No. 8 Texas A&M in February. South Carolina got a big assist in this one from Michigan's awful touch -- it finished 10 of 52 (19.6 percent) for its worst shooting percentage in six years. It was the first time the Wolverines (4-1) hadn't reached 50 points since scoring 42 in a loss to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 9, 2014.
SEC
Vols take seventh
LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Robert Hubbs III scored 28 points, Detrick Mostella added 14 and Tennessee beat host Chaminade 95-81 to take seventh place in the Maui Invitational.
Tennessee (2-3) had an inconsistent trip to Maui, playing well for stretches against No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 13 Oregon, but ultimately losing to both.
The Vols didn't have much trouble with the Division II Silverswords. Tennessee shot 52 percent and had a 52-32 advantage in the paint. Shembari Phillips had 12 points and Jordan Bowden 11 for the Vols.
Chaminade (2-3) closed out another Maui Invitational by putting a scare into power programs again. Rohndell Goodwin led Chaminade with 22 points and Kiran Shastri added 19.
In another game involving an SEC team, Markis McDuffie scored 15 points to help Wichita State beat LSU 82-47 at the Battle 4 Atlantis. Landry Shamet added 12 points for the Shockers (5-0), who dominated from the tip and scored the game's first nine points to quickly turn this into a rout. Antonio Blakeney scored 12 points for the Tigers (3-1), who never recovered from that awful start.
Sports on 11/24/2016