Irish guards direct romp over Kentucky
BY Associated Press
Friday, November 30, 2012
11/30/12 at 5:20 AM
Notre Dame's experience and raucous home crowd were too much for No. 8 Kentucky and its heralded freshmen.
Junior guards Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant paced the Fighting Irish to a 64-50 victory Thursday night in South Bend, Ind.
Atkins led the Fighting Irish with 16 points, Grant had 13 points and six assists and Jack Cooley added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
"The way our guards were controlling things, I didn't have to do a lot of coaching," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.
"Those guys were coaching the team. Eric Atkins running things, calling sets. When you have a veteran backcourt doing that, I just don't want to get in their way too much."
Notre Dame outplayed Kentucky (4-2) inside during the first half and held the Wildcats to a season-low 40 percent shooting.
The Irish shot 48 percent, the best anyone against Kentucky this season.
Julius Mays led Kentucky with 16 points and Nerlens Noel had 10.
"We came out a little shell-shocked and we started playing their game, which is slow down and half court. I think we're more of an up-tempo team," Mays said.
Two of Kentucky's heralded freshmen struggled. Archie Goodwin, who is averaging 19 points, was 1 of 7 shooting and finished with three points, and Alex Polythress, who is averaging 18.4 points, had just one basket and was 1 of 3 from the free-throw line.
No. 7 Florida overwhelms Marquette 82-49: In Gainesville, Fla., Michael Frazier II scored 17 points, one of six Florida players in double figures, as the Gators routed Marquette in the SEC-Big East Challenge.
Florida took control midway through the first half, building a double-digit lead thanks to Frazier's hot hand and solid defense, and never let up.
The Gators (6-0) stayed unbeaten without much help from Kenny Boynton. The team's leading scorer missed his first six shots and was scoreless until hitting a jumper with 16:34 remaining.
No. 12 Gonzaga routs Lewis-Clark St. 104-57: In Spokane, Wash., redshirt freshman Kyle Dranginis scored a season-high 30 points, and five other Gonzaga (7-0) players scored in double figures in a win over the NAIA school.
Przemek Karnowski scored 16 points. Kelly Olynk added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
