Davion Mintz makes his points after moving to point guard

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Davion Mintz hit five 3-pointers in just over three minutes in the second half of Saturday's win. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Finally, Kentucky finished a game by burying an opponent. The Wildcats got five 3-pointers from Davion Mintz in just over three minutes early in the second half to start the rout and beat South Carolina 92-64 to end its two-game losing streak.

Mintz had 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including the five straight 3-pointers, along with seven assists and five rebounds after taking over as starting point guard for Devin Askew.

BJ Boston hit his first three shots and finished with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field that included 6-for-10 from 3-point range. Between Mintz and Boston, they were 12-for-21 from 3-point range.

Kentucky coach John Calipari said he was happy for Mintz but also thought other players played “better” as well — and they did.

“I am liking the way we went against the zone,” Calipari said.

Maybe that was due to Mintz at point guard. Kentucky did not have a turnover in the first nine minutes. Maybe it was just due to Mintz and Boston hitting shots. But the ball movement overall was much crisper as Olivier Sarr had 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and Isaiah Jackson 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

Seven Wildcats had assists and UK finished with 17 assists, the same number of turnovers it had.

Jackson knew Mintz’s “great game” was the big reason for the big winning margin, something this team had not experience all season,

“That was crazy,” Jackson said about Mintz’s hot streak. “He’s the one that really stretched the game out for us and made the deficit so hard to come back from. Him playing point guard was good. He had seven assists. That was good.”

Before Mintz made his fifth 3-pointer in his hot streak he ran by the UK bench and Calipari said after the game he told Mintz “easy now” before the senior guard buried another 3. Mintz heard what he said.

“I said, ‘No, I got to take this,'” Mintz laughed and said. “It was just the energy and everything I felt around me. I knew it was going up.”

He remembered having one similar hot streak in high school like that and said it was “big” for him and the team Saturday.

“I didn’t practice all week (after the loss to Ole Miss Tuesday). I went down and had a bum ankle,” Mintz said. “To go crazy and get that feeling like that meant a lot.”

The move to point guard is not that difficult for Mintz who has played the position in high school and college. He said most of his reps at Kentucky since transferring from Creighton have been at shooting guard but when the “ball is in my hands and I get a few possessions I snap back” to the point guard mentality.

“I am very comfortable either spot I play on or off the ball,” Mintz said.

The senior said he trusted Calipari to make the best decision for him and the team.

“Whatever he needs from me is what I will do,” Mintz said. “If that is scoring or finding guys at a high level that is what I will do. We made the best adjustment for the team.”

And a move Calipari certainly will stick with in the SEC Tournament the Cats have to win to make the NCAA Tournament.

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