The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Big Blue Nation invaded the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium yesterday as both visiting and local fans turned out in droves to see the University of Kentucky Wildcats open the Big Blue Bahamas Tour.

The Wildcats eased to a 74-49 win over the Puerto Rican national team reserves in the first of the six game exhibition series set to take place over the course of the week.

The Kentucky upper classmen were in rare form as sophomore guard Aaron Harrison led the way with a game-high 15 points.

Junior forward Alex Poythress had 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes, while sophomores Marcus Lee added nine points and six rebounds and Dakarai Johnson added six points and six rebounds.

Kentucky’s freshmen also made their presence felt as they got 10 points and seven rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, nine points from Devin Booker, nine points and a team high five assists from Tyler Ulis.

Johwen Villegas led Puerto Rico with 14 points.

The Wildcats are slated to return to action 1pm Monday ET, playing Champagne Chalons-Reims. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.

Bahamian Olympic swimmer and Kentucky Alumni Nikia Deveaux threw the ceremonial jumpball prior to tip-off alongside Bahamian basketball icon Rick Fox.

It was the first time the public had an opportunity to see the 2014 NCAA Tournament runners-up and the highly touted freshman class play opposing competition.

UK head coach John Calipari said the team will attempt to use the trip as a developmental tool despite being in the backdrop of a vacation setting.

“It’s been terrific. We’ve only been here for two days but it’s been really nice. We played everybody about the same amount of minutes. Everybody touched the ball and we had opportunities to do things. Loved the fact that we were passing the ball to each other and making extra passes. Our ball pressure was great and we were pushing the ball. The things we worked on we did, but it’s summer,” he said.

“These were older professional players. The team we wil play has four NBA ‘in and out guys.’ They have been in the league and done that so it will be a tougher test for us. We just kept coming for 40 minutes. My goal is for our team to grow together, to learn about one another, to have fun and to compete against teams that will stretch us out. These teams should be a challenge that will let us really see where we are at this point. But again, learning and having fun will be the emphasis of the trip.”

NCAA rules allow for a foreign tour by an intercollegiate team once every four academic years. Kentucky’s Big Blue Bahamas tour is a joint venture between Complete Sports Management and the Bahamas Basketball Federation.

“It is showcasing the Bahamas across the world as more and more of the top basketball teams come to the country,” said Lea Miller, president of Complete Sports Management. “It is always a pleasure working with the Bahamas Basketball Federation, and we are very appreciative of their support in getting everyone together. It is sure to be a great event not just for the teams but for the locals as well because we want as many Bahamians as possible to be a part of this.”