There likely wasn’t a soul in the building Thursday night unaware Kentucky’s last shot of the first half would be off the fingertips of Antonio Reeves. After all, Reeves had been nearly perfect.

This shot didn’t ruin it, as he popped free behind the 3-point line and calmly buried the jumper with six seconds remaining in the half — the final points for either team — as UK took a leisurely jog to the locker room, up 53-33 on in-state rival Louisville.

By that point, Reeves already had 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including 4 for 4 on 3s.

He added eight points in the second half to finish with 30 as the No. 9 Wildcats rolled to a 95-76 victory over the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center.

"I already knew I was hot, so when I got the ball, I wasn't even thinking," said Reeves, reflecting upon his end-of-half triple. "It was just off reaction, for real, so I just shot it and it went in. I know I had like three or four of them before that and I was open a little bit, so I just let it go."

Thursday's result was anticipated: Kentucky (9-2), which entered as a double-digit road favorite, is one of the nation’s top teams, appearing primed for a deep run in March under Hall of Famer John Calipari; Louisville (5-7) has suffered a number of embarrassing losses this season and last, with each passing game potentially the finale for second-year coach Kenny Payne if he doesn’t find a way to start stacking more wins — and fast.

Reeves made sure Payne and his club felt more misery Thursday.

And Reeves did so in the most excruciating manner possible: U of L trailed by only three points, 21-18, midway through the first half. Reeves immediately knocked down a 3 to make it 24-18. Then he added 11 points in the half’s final seven minutes, a stretch which included two more triples, a fast-break dunk and an assist, as the visitors stretched their lead to 20 points at intermission.

"They came out swinging," Reeves said. "It's a rivalry game. So they came out 100% ready to play, and we came out 100%, too. So as the game goes on, you've just got to figure out a way to try to shut them down and try to take away things on the offensive end. As the game went on and on, we started to figure things out."

Calipari pointed to Reeves as the primary reason why his team took control in the first half.

On the other sideline, the Cardinals failing to adjust more quickly to Reeves' scorching shooting bothered Payne to no end.

"We didn't get back in transition. We weren't locked in defensively," he said, "and a guy goes off for 22 points."

Reeves’ scoring pace slowed considerably in the second half, however, as he had eight points while missing 6 of 7 attempts from the field. His lone second-half conversion came with 10:04 remaining, serving as one of the highlights of the night: Reeves threw down a two-handed dunk in transition — while being fouled. He sank the subsequent free throw to complete the three-point play and push the Wildcats’ lead to 71-49.

It’s not as if he was the only Wildcat who contributed in the 19-point rout — fellow senior Tre Mitchell posted a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds, most of all players Thursday), and freshmen Justin Edwards (13 points — 11 in the second half — on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds), Rob Dillingham (12 points) and Reed Sheppard (11 points and a game-high 11 assists) had stellar showings as well.

But Reeves was the night’s main attraction.

His 30 points marked the most by a Wildcat in a game since … Reeves last season, when he scored 37 in a win at Arkansas in the regular-season finale March 4.

"Honestly, I was starting to get a little cold over there. It was just flurrying," Mitchell said with a laugh, thinking back on Reeves' scintillating first half. "He wasn't missing. But he works harder than anybody I know. When you put the work in, eventually, it's going to show.

"So I think that we did a great job finding him, and it's up to him to knock the shot down. ... He's just another guy that deserves a night like tonight."

Thursday represented a bounce-back performance in more ways than one for the Chicago native.

In his last outing, last week in Atlanta versus North Carolina, Reeves struggled in the Wildcats’ 87-83 win, going 2 of 9 from the field for nine points. And he also had a forgettable showing last season in his first meeting with the Cardinals. In that game, an 86-63 home triumph for UK, Reeves went 1 for 4 (0 for 2 on 3s) for five points.

His superlative effort Thursday set the stage for Kentucky’s next game: It will be the “Antonio Reeves Bowl,” as UK hosts Illinois State, where the fifth-year senior guard spent three seasons before joining the Wildcats prior to the 2022-23 campaign. As Reeves went, so went the Redbirds in his final season in Normal, Illinois: He averaged 20.1 points per game, nearly seven more than his closest teammate.

Reeves looks ahead to the reunion with his former team knowing he equitably bears the scoring burden.

"Everybody can dribble, pass, shoot, like coach (Cal) has been talking about," Reeves said. "So we just continue to look for one another and find one another. Whoever's open — whoever's got the hot hand — give it to him."

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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Antonio Reeves shines vs. Louisville Cardinals