LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Kentucky coach John Calipari likes to say a team without a post presence is a fraud. By that standard, his team was truth and sincerity Wednesday night.
With Nick Richards providing a double-double dose of low-post reality, Kentucky beat Fort Wayne 86-67.
Fort Wayne countered with 3-point shooting, and made enough treys to stay close for a half.
But, ultimately, UK's size _ led by the 6-foot-11 Richards _ was decisive. Richards, who acknowledges being a reluctant low-post force, posted his first double-double: 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Kentucky (5-1) pulled away early in the second half and led by 30 points with less than eight minutes left.
As with the less-than-satisfying victory over Troy two nights earlier, Kentucky failed to finish off a weakened opponent. Surely, suspicions about an early tryptophan hangover crossed minds as Fort Wayne scored 11 straight points to close within 79-60.
Fort Wayne, which beat Indiana last season, fell to 3-2. Athlon and Street & Smith picked Fort Wayne to finish fifth in the Horizon League. The league coaches picked Fort Wayne to finish third.
John Konchar, a two-time all-league player, led Fort Wayne with 19 points.
Bryson Scott, a transfer from Purdue, had 18.
Fort Wayne came into the game hoping to ride 3-point shooting to victory. The Mastodons averaged the fourth-most 3-point baskets in the nation last season (10.7 per game). They were even more prolific this season, averaging 29.3 3-point shots and 11.3 three-point baskets.
"We're still missing a lot of details that we've historically been able to execute," Coach Jon Coffman said before the game.
Those details included ball movement. Or, as Coffman put it, "Keep the ball happy."
Fort Wayne also wanted to be everywhere defensively. Or, as Coffman put it, "Put Kentucky in crowds."
Coffman summed up by saying, "At the end of the day, when we face adversity, we need to be us. ... Make teams adjust to us."
None of that happened.
Hamidou Diallo swished a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half, then celebrated with a skip and strut toward the UK bench.
The shot gave Kentucky a 45-37 halftime lead. That was UK's largest first-half lead, which might have been a reason to mute the celebrating.
Given UK"s 70.4-percent shooting (19 for 27), a larger lead at intermission seemed inevitable.
But turnovers, a recurring problem for the Cats, prevented a first-half knockout. UK committed 11 turnovers in the half.
Fort Wayne lived up to its pregame billing as a team intent on proving correct former UK coach Rick Pitino's contention that the 3-point shot was basketball's great equalizer.
The Mastodons made five of their first eight shots from beyond the arc. That kept Fort Wayne close. When Konchar hit a 3 with 11:23 left, Kentucky found itself down 24-23.
The deficit grew to 27-23. But Kentucky's switch to a zone defense keyed a rush down the stretch. Fort Wayne did not score in the final 3:45. Kentucky finished the half with a 9-0 run capped by Diallo's 3-pointer.
