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Kentucky preps for UNC by routing St. John's

Dec 2, 2011 - 6:13 AM Lexington, KY (Sports Network) - Terrence Jones finished with 26 points and nine rebounds, as No. 1 Kentucky cruised to an 81-59 victory over St. John's on Thursday.

Doron Lamb added 16 points and Anthony Davis had 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks for the Wildcats (7-0) who have won 37 straight games in Rupp Arena.

They will host No. 5 North Carolina on Saturday.

"I have no idea how we are going to play them yet," Wildcats coach John Calipari said of the ensuing matchup with UNC. "I doubt if either one of us are going to try to hold the ball. I mean, it should be an up-and-down game. You let them get in too much of an up-and-down game, you'll get killed."

God'sgift Achiuwa paced St. John's (4-4) with 18 points, while Moe Harkless added 16. Both players grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Red Storm were without head coach Steve Lavin, who continues to recover from prostate cancer surgery.

Achiuwa put his team on top, 5-4, with a layup in the game's opening minutes. It would prove to be the Red Storm's last advantage.

The Wildcats reeled off a 12-0 run to grab a 16-5 lead on Lamb's trey midway through the first half.

They held a 31-20 advantage at the break, as Jones paced the team with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Davis added seven points, eight rebounds and five blocks in the dominant opening half.

For Kentucky, the game proved little more than a tune-up for Saturday's matchup with the Tar Heels, who were the preseason No. 1.

Jones knocked down a free throw with 11:43 remaining, as the lead ballooned to 20 at 54-34.

The Wildcats had a school-record 18 blocks in the game and finished strong, flirting with a 30-point lead down the stretch.

In all, the Red Storm hit just 2-of-13 three-pointers en route to their second straight loss.

"The problem was that when we got into the paint we couldn't finish or make that extra pass and that's something that we are going to have to learn," said St. John's coach Mike Dunlap.

Game Notes

Kentucky leads the all-time series with St. John's, 11-5. This was the teams' first meeting since 2001...Lavin announced in a statement Tuesday that he will not return until fully recovered from prostate cancer surgery, which he underwent on October 6. Dunlap has been running the team in Lavin's stead.