Vicky Graff Photo
It was a night to remember for Reed Sheppard.
The freshman guard scored 25 points, made seven 3-pointers and finished with seven assists to lead No. 17 Kentucky to a 101-67 win over outmanned Stonehill Friday night.
Once he made his first shot from long range, that’s all it took for Sheppard to get into a rhythm.
“I felt good,” Sheppard said. “I’ve got to give a lot of the credit to my teammates. They were able to break down the zone and get me open shots and I was able to knock them down.”
Most of those shots, Sheppard said, were wide open, which made it easier for the Wildcats, who made 17 treys – the most in the John Calipari era – in the easy victory.
“I didn’t shoot any that were contested,” Sheppard said. “They were all open because of Rob( Dillingham) , D.J. (Wagner)., Justin (Edwards), Tre (Mitchell) — all of them were able to get me, give me wide open threes.
“I’ve got the best teammates in the world. They’re always going to find you if you’re all in. So that’s what they were able to do.”
The performance came three days after the freshman guard scored a then career-high 13 points in an 89-84 loss to top-ranked Kansas Tuesday night in the Champions Classic in Chicago.
Although the team’s first loss of the season was tough to swallow, Sheppard said the setback was a learning experience and it showed during the past two days in practice.
“The first thing we learned was we can play with anyone and we just got to play together as a team and be more disciplined on the offensive and defensive end,” Sheppard said. “We came together after that game and we had a good couple of practices. The coaches did a good job of going over the game and then kind of forgetting the game and just focusing on the game tonight.”
Stonehill, which played a zone, found it difficult to contain Sheppard and the Wildcats who set a Calipari-era record with 17 3-pointers after shooting 39 treys in the loss to the Jayhawks earlier this week.
Mitchell, who made several shots in the post in the middle of the zone to create balance within the offense, wasn’t surprised by Sheppard’s shooting performance against the Skyhawks.
“Clearly he’s capable of that,” Mitchell said. “He works hard and he deserves it. He takes open shots. And if you leave that kid open, it’s going in the hoop and it’s going in.”
In moving forward Sheppard knows he will be a target for future opponents, but also is aware of his surrounding cast.
“Some nights it may not be your night,” he said. “The other players may be playing better, and you just got to go give them a hug and just and just let it be their night and be happy for them.
“I think that’s going to be a big thing all season because we’ve got eight dudes that could go out and have a great night. And that’s a good thing about this team.”
On this night, it was Sheppard’s turn in the spotlight.
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Gametracker: Saint Joseph’s at Kentucky, 7 p.m., Monday. TV/Radio: SEC Network and UK Radio Network
