In a game that felt like March in mid-December, Kentucky showed it belonged on the big stage even though John Calipari’s team has a slew of freshmen.

Kentucky had a solid start against North Carolina, and didn’t look back. After it gave up the lead late in the 2nd half for the first time all game, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham engineered 3 straight layups to regain a 5-point margin. But the Tar Heels wouldn’t go away. Then Aaron Bradshaw hit a pair of foul shots with 42 seconds left to make it a 4-point game, and then UK got the benefit of a last-second blunder by the Tar Heels, and held on 87-83 on Saturday night.

Dillingham led 4 UK players in double figures with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field.

Miscommunication on a pass in the frontcourt led to a backcourt violation for the Heels with less than 10 seconds to play.

With balanced scoring, the Cats at halftime had 4 players with 7 points, never trailed and led by as many as 11 points before halftime. DJ Wagner began the game with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. With Class of 2024 UK basketball signee Somto Cyril at State Farm Arena — along with former UNC coach Roy Williams — the Cats prevailed over the Heels in the CBS Sports Classic.

UNC led in the game for the first time with 5:15 remaining, but UK quickly answered.

At halftime, UK coach John Calipari, who was whistled for a technical foul in the first half, was pleased that his team responded on a big stage.

UK outscored UNC 11-3 after Calipari’s technical at 4:04 mark.

The Cats got 7-1 Aaron Bradshaw back two weeks ago. Now, fellow 7-footer Ugonna Onyenso also made his return. The Kentucky coaching staff believes that makes the Cats better defensively on the interior. Onyenso played 10 minutes, scored 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 blocks.

The Tar Heels began the game shooting 5-for-16 from the field and 1-for-8 on 3s, as Kentucky used an up-tempo style to start 6-0 on fast break points.