In its first home game in two weeks, the Kentucky men’s basketball team dismantled Radford, 88-40, on its way to a pair of wins in the week.

Kentucky forward Terrence Jones led all scorers with 17 points, supported by freshman point guard Marquis Teague who totaled 13 points and five assists.

The Highlanders never stood a chance against the Wildcats falling behind 14-0 to open the contest. Missing its first 12 shots, combined with seven turnovers, Radford didn’t register any points until 10 minutes deep into the game.

It wouldn’t be long before the divide grew even wider, as Kentucky ran the score to 22-2, before the Highlanders could get any sort of bearings.

The Wildcats’ lead continued to grow in the first half, building from 29-6 to 38-12, until the half finally closed at 45-14.

Radford saw more success in the second half. Though they were still outscored 43-26 in the second frame, the Highlanders were able to register back-to-back baskets, relieving a little bit of the pressure they found themselves under the whole game.

Radford shot just 17-of-65 (26 percent) from the field and only 2-of-25 (eight percent) from behind the arc.

Kentucky welcomes Saint John’s and No. 5 North Carolina to Rupp Arena this week while Radford opens conference play against Charleston Southern.

UNC falls from top

A closely-contested battle saw UNLV knock-off top-seeded North Carolina and claim the title of the Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena.

Senior forward Chace Stanback recorded a career-high 28 points, with 21 of those coming in the second half, along with 10 rebounds en route to the 90-80 win. He was supported by three others in double figures as Mike Moser (16 points, 18 rebounds), Oscar Bellfield (16 points, nine assists) and Anthony Marshall (13 points) all had major contributions.

The Rebels out-rebounded the Tar Heels 46-37 and made them pay on the glass. UNLV grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and got 20 second-chance points to UNC’s six.

Free throw shooting also hurt the Tar Heels as they missed 13 of their 33 chances (60.6 percent), while the Rebels converted 15-of-18 opportunities from the charity stripe.

UNLV came out firing, taking 10 of its first 15 shots from the 3-point range and converting four to take a 17-9 lead.

However, two scoreless minutes from the Rebels allowed UNC to get back in front, 18-17. The remainder of the half saw the two teams trade leads before entering the intermission with UNC leading 42-38.

In the second half, UNLV capitalized. The second period opened with the Rebels on a 15-0 run to lead 53-42, a lead they never relinquished.

Following this result, UNLV enters the rankings at No. 20, while the Tar Heels fall from No. 1 to No. 5.

Duke claims Maui Title

Duke dispatched two top-15 squads to claim its fifth Maui Invitational title. A late 3-pointer from Tyler Thornton with a second left on the shot clock clinched the title for the No. 4-ranked Blue Devils over No. 14 Kansas, 68-61.

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers was in attendance at the Lahaina Civic Center to watch his son, Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers. Rivers provided 10 points in 27 minutes for the Blue Devils, but it was upperclassmen Ryan Kelly (17 points) and Mason Plumlee (17 points, 12 rebounds) who led the way for Duke.

The first half played very closely with Kansas taking a 35-31 lead into halftime. The Jayhawks leading scorer, Tyshawn Taylor (17 points), earned 13 first-half points to secure the lead. Thomas Robinson (16 points, 15 rebounds) was also instrumental in Kansas’ play throughout.

In the second half, it was neck-and-neck throughout until Duke unleashed a 11-3 run to close out the game.

Thornton capped the run with a dagger from beyond the arc with 21 seconds left to play. The Jayhawks defense stymied the Blue Devils, draining the shot clock to just a second. This forced Thornton to heave a last-chance shot, which dropped to give the Blue Devils the title.

Duke visits No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 29, while Kansas hosts Florida Atlantic on Nov. 30.

Jeffery Okerman can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Okerman.