LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentuckys latest highly touted freshman class showed their expected potential, but only after a boost from the veterans.Isaiah Briscoe scored 17 points, Derek Willis added 15 and No. 2 Kentucky went on to an 87-64 season-opening victory over Stephen F. Austin on Friday night.An opener expected to highlight the Wildcats latest group of talented freshmen instead saw veterans such as sophomore guard Briscoe and Willis, a senior forward, shoulder the load. They combined to make 11 of 18 from the field while their experience offset the newcomers early shooting troubles. Seven-foot sophomore Isaac Humphries (9 points, 8 rebounds) filled a big inside void with 6-10 freshman Bam Adebayo (five points) hampered by foul trouble.Senior guard Mychal Mulder, a transfer who scored just 12 points last season for the Wildcats, had eight on a team-high two 3-pointers.Before the game Coach (John Calipari) reminded us that theyre young and its their first game, so make sure everything out there is in order, said Briscoe, who worked out for several NBA teams last spring before deciding to return for a second season.Several freshmen did their part with forward Wenyen Gabriel scoring 10 first-half points off the bench. Guard DeAaron Fox added 12 points and broke a 36-year-old program record for assists in an opener with 12, while Malik Monk had 10 second-half points.Isaiah Traylor scored 15 points and Leon Gilmore III had 12 with 11 rebounds for Stephen F. Austin, which lost the debut of coach Kyle Keller. The Lumberjacks outrebounded Kentucky 36-28 but committed 28 turnovers leading to 32 points.BIG PICTUREStephen F. Austin: Despite losing eight players from last years team, the Lumberjacks early on resembled the competitive NCAA Tournament team that upset third-seeded West Virginia before losing by five points to No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the second. They slowed the pace before the Wildcats height and depth took over.Keller became first of three SFA coaches this century to lose his debut, but the Lumberjacks should make a strong push for their first straight Southland Conference regular season title.When we look back on this game, were going to draw on it, said Keller, who took over after being a Texas A&M assistant. Were going to get a lot of confidence from this.Kentucky: Willis followed up last seasons breakout by being the steadying force early, making 3 of 4 field goals with two blocks. He finished with five rebounds. Humphries was a pleasant surprise with Adebayo spending much of the first half on the bench. The Wildcats shot 50 percent but were still outrebounded.Were one of those teams that is so young, Calipari said, not disciplined enough defensively, should be a better rebounding team. We got outrebounded.POLL IMPLICATIONSKentucky is likely to remain in position and wont face that question until after meeting No. 12 Michigan State next week in New York.SELFLESS PLAYCalipari preaches unselfishness to players and brags about his succession of standout point guards that have set the tone, most recently by Tyler Ulis. Fox offered glimpses of being Kentuckys next floor general by breaking Dirk Minniefields old mark of 11 assists against Butler on Nov. 27, 1982.I didnt even realize I was doing it, Fox said. I knew I wasnt shooting the ball well. Teammates were cutting and finishing when I was passing the ball to them, so all the credit is to them.BAMS ROUGH NIGHTAdebayo was expected to get most of the attention because of his NBA-caliber game and build. But his physical style drew two quick fouls and four overall, leaving him with just one rebound in 15 minutes.UP NEXTStephen F. Austin: Returns home to host Longwood on Tuesday and regroup from the loss.Kentucky: Hosts Canisius on Sunday in the first meeting between the schools since 1998. The Wildcats have won previous games against the Golden Griffins and seek a strong tuneup before facing No. 12 Michigan State on Tuesday in New York.---AP college basketball: collegebasketball.ap.org Air Force Ones Nz . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Air Force 1 Low Womens Sale . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. http://www.airforce1salenz.com/ . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Nike SF Air Force 1 Nz .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Sf Af1 Nz . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. The Boston Celtics have built an identity the last few years under Brad Stevens as a tough-minded defensive team.His offensive brilliance with a mismatched roster without a star has always had the stout defense as a backdrop.To take that next step, Boston added Al Horford to Isaiah Thomas, hoping they would propel the club to the top of the Eastern Conference. They believed Horford would only bolster their defense.Horford has indeed helped, notwithstanding the failed tip-in at the buzzer against the Houston Rockets on Monday. Boston is sitting at 12-9 and in third in the packed Eastern Conference.The defense, though, has been slow to develop.In 2015, the Celtics finished 12th in defensive rating on their way to a surprise playoff berth. Last year, Boston finished fourth in that metric.This year, however, Boston is 17th in defensive rating, giving up 105.1 points per 100 possessions. Boston is still winning, but the team has struggled to bring its defense to the elite level that it one of the rising teams last year.The defense has improved recently. In the last 10 games, the Celtics are 11th in defensive rating, giving up 104.8 points per 100 possessions. Boston is still carving out an identity with the new players on the roster.The Celtics opponent Wednesday, as they wrap up a three-game trip, has found that identity in the laast month.ddddddddddddWhile the Celtics have been trying to elevate their defense, the Orlando Magic have become one of the top defenses in the league.Orlando had given up just 94.3 points per 100 possessions in 10 games before a 124-116 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The Magic have risen to third in the league as defense has become a key part of their identity.No player has embodied that improvement more than Nikola Vucevic, who had a reputation as a poor defender but has quickly become one of the biggest defensive stalwarts for the Magic this season.Everybody has been really so hard on my defense, Vucevic told the Orlando Sentinel. I think there is no player in this league that does everything. So there are areas that I do really well defensively (and) some areas that I need to improve, and I think I did improve on those this year. I never felt like my defense was that big of an issue. It was just all the media making a big deal out of it.The Celtics will hope to get their defense back on track against the Magic. They may have to do it without Thomas. The All-Star point guard missed Tuesdays practice with a pulled groin, but he told The Boston Globe he still hopes to play Wednesday. ' ' '