Lexington, KY (My Sportsbook) - Freshman guard John Wall scored 19 points and drilled the game-winning jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining, as the fourth- ranked Kentucky Wildcats snuck past a feisty Miami-Ohio RedHawks club, 72-70, in a non-conference affair at Rupp Arena.
Making his Kentucky debut, Wall raced down the court and made the winning jumper seconds after Kenny Hayes tied the tilt with a long three-pointer from the top of the arc.
"I wasn't guarding him, but when I hit the shot I just flew back because I saw him running to the ball, and then he flew down the court. I think everyone was back, but he is very fast and good. He hit a big time shot. It was contested, but he made it," said Hayes.
Wall, who also dished out five assists, missed the Wildcats' season opener due to serving the final portion of a suspension for recruiting violations. Wall added three steals to cap his big performance.
Patrick Patterson added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky (2-0), which was coming off a 75-59 win over Morehead State on Friday. DeMarcus Cousins ended with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who shot 49.1 percent from the field.
Junior forward Nick Winbush paced Miami-Ohio with a career-high 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Hayes finished with 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds for the RedHawks (0-2), who shot a sizzling 15- of-26 from three-point range.
"I like big games, so when I hit the first one I just did it again. I kept shooting and I kept on hitting, so that was about it," said Winbush.
With the score tied at 67, Cousins drove to the hoop and made a layup while being fouled. His missed foul shot made it 69-67 with 1:26 to go.
At the other end, Cousins came up with a big steal off a Julian Mavunga pass. But Cousins was called for traveling, giving the ball back to Miami-Ohio. Hayes then turned the ball over in the lane while attempting a driving layup with less than 30 seconds remaining.
Wall made 1-of-2 from the foul line at the opposite end of the court to make it a 70-67 game with 19.5 seconds to go, setting up the wild ending.
The RedHawks were trailing 14-11 early in the first half when they put together an impressive 25-4 run. Winbush highlighted the burst with four three-pointers, including a trey to make it 36-18 with seven minutes left.
Kentucky fought right back, ripping off 15 consecutive points. Darnell Dodson made a pair of three-pointers during the spurt, which Wall ended with a jumper to cut the deficit to 36-33 with 1:14 to go.
Miami-Ohio held a 39-36 edge at the break. Winbush went 6-of-6 from beyond the arc in the half.
After Wall made a pair of foul shots to start the second half, the RedHawks ripped off six straight points. A Hayes jumper made it 45-38 with 16 minutes remaining.
A Patterson slam and a Cousins layup cut the Wildcats' gap to 50-48 with over 11 minutes to play.
A rare four-point play by Hayes stopped a nine-point run by Kentucky, but the Wildcats still held a 57-56 edge with 6:44 left. The score remained tight until the end.
Game Notes
Kentucky is 22-4 all-time against Miami-Ohio and has won 20 in a row. Kentucky hasn't lost to the RedHawks since the 1927-28 season...Kentucky's Eric Bledsoe was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday...The RedHawks opened their season by dropping an 82-71 decision at Towson on Friday.
