LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Clarion men's basketball team enjoyed the thrill of playing in one of college basketball's most famous arenas, battling but ultimately falling to the Kentucky Wildcats by a 108-51 score at Rupp Arena on Sunday.  Coached by Clarion alumnus and Athletics Hall of Famer John Calipari, the Wildcats fought off an early challenge from the Golden Eagles for the win.
 
A number of Golden Eagles acquitted themselves well against the powerhouse Wildcats, none more notably than senior guard and Preseason All-PSAC West selection BJ Andrews.  Andrews finished the game with 16 points, including a 4-of-6 performance from three-point range, in 31 minutes of action.  Cameron Grumley added nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
 
Justin Grant drew first blood against the Wildcats, scoring on a baseline out-of-bounds play at the 18:24 mark off a feed from Manny Powell.  Grumley scored on the Golden Eagles' next trip down the court as well, driving the line and finishing with the left hand to cut the Wildcats' lead to 7-4.  Powell added a bucket of his own, drilling a three-pointer from the left wing to cut the deficit to two points at 9-7. 
 
Generally speaking, things stayed within one possession between the two teams in the opening minutes of the game.  Grant fired a three from the left corner to keep the deficit at 13-10, but Kentucky responded with a 6-0 run that was capped with a steal by Isaiah Briscoe, who pushed the ball ahead to Dominique Hawkins for a layup.  Andrews stopped the bleeding with a pull-up three-pointer at the 13:03 mark, but Kentucky pulled away and led 24-14 at the second media timeout of the half.
 
The Kentucky defense locked it down the rest of the way in the first half, holding the Golden Eagles to just one field goal – a jumper from Kwame Morton, Jr. – and a free throw from Andrews over the span of nearly seven minutes.  Morton broke the drought with another jumper, this one a trey from the head of the key off a feed from Powell at the 3:49 mark.  Derek Willis delivered a spinning layup as the clock wound down in the half, and the Wildcats led 48-22 at the break.
 
Akeem Williams scored the first bucket of the second half for Clarion with a monster dunk, converting a feed from Grumley and throwing it down with two hands to elicit cheers from the Golden Eagle fans in attendance.  The Golden Eagles started raining down threes midway through the second half, with Andrews knocking down treys on consecutive possessions and Grumley adding one from the left wing at the 13:47 mark.
 
Andrews drilled another three-pointer from the left corner at the 12:08 mark of the second half, draining the fall-away jumper with a hand in his face for his 13th point of the night.  Grumley added a fall-away of his own with roughly eight minutes to play, lifting off his left foot and draining it from 12 feet out.  
 
Kentucky did not let up, however, cracking the century mark with 3:39 remaining in the game.  Bo Murray knocked down a jumper from the head of the key for his first points of the night and RJ Laugand followed suit with a three-pointer with 2:33 to play.