No. 8 Kentucky 82, Campbell 50

Posted 5:44AM on Thursday 30th December 2004 ( 20 years ago )

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) That Tubby Smith would win his 200th game as Kentucky's basketball coach on Wednesday night was a given. That a freshman would lead the way was not. Smith picked up the milestone win as the eighth-ranked Wildcats routed Campbell 82-50 behind a career-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from freshman center Randolph Morris. ``He was moving well, running the floor better,'' Smith said of Morris. ``When he puts his mind to it, and he's hungry, he's pretty hard to stop.'' Kelenna Azubuike added 14 points as the Wildcats (9-1) won their fifth straight game. Kentucky will begin Southeastern Conference play next Wednesday against South Carolina and has one nonconference game remaining, at home against No. 2 Kansas on Jan. 9. The lopsided loss was Campbell's third of the season to a major conference opponent. The Fighting Camels (2-7) also lost by 55 points to No. 17 North Carolina State and by 41 points to Tennessee. Campbell arguably Kentucky's most lightly regarded opponent during the last 10 seasons has lost 39 of its last 40 road games. Smith is 200-53 in eight seasons at Kentucky and 324-115 in 14 seasons overall with the Wildcats, Georgia and Tulsa. He is the fourth coach to win at least 200 games at Kentucky, joining Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall and Rick Pitino. Smith downplayed the significance of the win. ``It's good to get the win,'' Smith said. ``I'm grateful for the people at Kentucky.'' Kentucky made 10 of its first 11 shots and never trailed. The Wildcats led 24-4 nine minutes into the game, as Morris went 5-of-5 from the field during that stretch. The 6-foot-10 Morris, whose previous best outing was 14 points against Georgia State, matched the single-game high this season by any Kentucky player. ``Randolph had a great game,'' Smith said. ``One of the things that concerned me is the lack of (team) physicality, but Randolph is picking up on it.'' Morris was unavailable for comment, as Smith will not allow the Wildcats' four freshmen all of whom were heavily recruited to be interviewed by the media. Campbell made only two of its first 21 shots and shot 16.7 percent from the field in the half. The Camels didn't reach double digits on the scoreboard until 1:05 before halftime. ``There were times when the just overwhelmed us with their physical stature inside,'' Campbell coach Robbie Laing said. ``It seemed we were moving sideways all night.'' Kentucky led 45-11 at the half. Campbell's point total was the lowest by a Kentucky opponent in a first half since Dec. 20, 1983 before the shot clock era began when the Wildcats led Cincinnati 11-7. ``When you go to half 45-11, it's pretty much match, set, point,'' Laing said. Campbell used a 20-3 run highlighted by a four-point play by Anthony Atkinson to pull to 51-33 with 10:36 left, but came no closer after Kentucky's starters re-entered the game. ``That's the sign of a team that hasn't grown up yet,'' Smith said of the Wildcats' second-half letdown. Atkinson led Campbell with 14 points, going 5-of-10 from the field, and Comerlee Poole had nine points and nine rebounds. The Camels shot 28.6 percent from the field. Patrick Sparks had eight points and seven assists for Kentucky, while Chuck Hayes added nine points and 11 rebounds. Each Kentucky starter had at least two assists, and the Wildcats recorded assists on 27 of their 33 baskets. The Camels, who play in the Atlantic Sun Conference, are 1-26 all-time against current SEC teams. The crowd of 22,411 at Rupp Arena was the largest that a Campbell team ever had played in front of. Before Wednesday, the largest crowd to watch the Camels was in 1992, when they lost to Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament before 15,800 fans in Greensboro, N.C. ``I think that playing in front of such a big crowd affected some of our guys,'' Atkinson said. ``We have played in big arenas before but nothing compares to Kentucky fans.''

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