Friday, March 17, 2000
UK pulls off great escape
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVELAND — Saul Smith slumped in his locker-room seat. “Man, I feel like it's 7 o'clock right now,” the Kentucky point guard said.
It was 3:27 p.m.
“Holy smokes. I'm drained.”
So was anyone involved with UK's 85-80 double-overtime triumph over St.Bonaventure Thursday at Cleveland State's Convocation Center. It was the longest of UK's record 120 NCAA Tournament games, and the longest game involving the Wildcats in 19 years.
It wasn't a championship but certainly a win worth cheering.
“I'm tired and relieved,” UK freshman guard Keith Bogans said. “Games like this, this is what I live for.”
UK's most schizophrenic season in decades swung back from the brink, saved by a game-tying Tayshaun Prince 3-pointer and won with tired legs leaping for the last few loose balls.
It was vindication for a short-handed squad that has lost 10 players since last season, including starter Desmond Allison five days ago, and played just seven men Thursday. After two fouled out, UK played the last period with the same five.
Avoiding what could have been their first first-round loss in 13 years, the fifth-seeded Wildcats (23-9) advance to play fourth seed Syracuse (25-5) here at 1:10 p.m. Saturday.
“Every win is big, but this is a special one,” UK coach Tubby Smith said. “Because we had a young man, Desmond Allison, make a mistake (a DUI arrest) this week. We had players transfer. But our kids believe in themselves, believe they deserve to be here.”
Smith improved to 7-0 in overtime games as UK's coach and is 10-1 in the NCAA Tour nament with the Wildcats. Three of those 10 tourney triumphs came in OT, the March magic waved each time by a different wand.
Two years ago it was Jeff Sheppard, scoring a career-high 27 points in a Final Four victory over Stanford. Last year it was Scott Padgett, who scored a career-high 29 against Kansas, including the game-tying 3-pointer that forced OT.
Thursday, Prince became king. He scored a career-high 28 points, and his 3 with 7.1 seconds left in regulation rescued the Wildcats.
“If Tayshaun doesn't make that shot, we're going back to Lexington,” sophomore guard J.P. Blevins said. “That was a big-time shot by a big-time player.”
That came after UK rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and blew a 13-point lead of its own after halftime. St.Bonaventure (21-10) went on a 21-5 run to take a 54-49 lead with five minutes left in regulation.
That set up the first of three wild five-minute series.
UK rallied to a 60-59 lead with 2:20 left, but two Bonnies baskets spelled a 63-60 deficit with a minute to go. It appeared the only school to reach the Elite Eight the past five years wouldn't make even the Final 63 this time.
But St.Bonaventure's J.R. Bremer missed a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left. UK didn't call time out, having already decided to run Prince off a double-screen set by Bogans and Jules Camara.
“We ran that for Tayshaun with (2:53) left and got him a 3,” Saul Smith said. “So we knew we were going to run that again — to the opposite side — even before we got the ball back. It worked to perfection.”
Padgett, watching from the stands, turned around and told friends: “Oh, (the) Kansas (game)! This one's a lock now.”
Deja vu or not, there were several more bullets to dodge. Bonnies senior guard Tim Winn missed a driving layup with two seconds left to finish regulation. Then the 73-68 lead UK owned with 15 seconds left in the first OT disappeared.
Camara fouled Bremer on a 3-point try; he made two free throws. After Camara made a free throw, Winn scored on a 3-point play: 74-73. UK's Jamaal Magloire made two free throws with 8.7 seconds left, but Bonnies senior guard David Messiah Capers drew a Marvin Stone foul on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left.
The Wildcats couldn't believe the call. Blevins ran down the court, stifling a scream.
“I'm sure it made for great TV for the folks back home, but I'd much rather have been back at the hotel (with the game over),” Blevins said.
Capers, just a .556 free-throw shooter, had been to the line in just one of the past eight games. Incredibly, he made all three shots.
“That was tough,” Stone said. “He kept making them, and I'm saying, "Oh man, this is unreal.'”
Stone atoned with a rebound basket in the second OT. Then, with UK nursing a one-point lead with 12 seconds left, Stone batted a loose ball to Bogans under the basket, and Bogans laid it in.
When Winn missed a 3 with three seconds left, UK could finally exhale.
Four players logged career highs in minutes played — Prince (48), Bogans (45), Magloire (43) and Camara (37). The wonder was if there will be anything left for Saturday.
“This is a matter of "survive and advance,'” Tubby Smith said. “We'll rest (today) and hopefully come back strong.”
Will Wildcats feel fatigue vs. Syracuse?
Prince has role in his clutches
Bonnies prove loss can yield some rewards
ST BONAVENTURE (80)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Prato 27 8-12 0-1 1-2 0 2 20
Van Paassen 29 2-7 4-6 4-7 0 5 8
Cyrus 49 3-13 1-2 6-18 0 2 7
D Messiah Cape 40 5-11 5-5 3-5 2 4 16
Winn 48 4-17 1-2 1-2 10 1 10
V Massiah 16 1-2 0-1 0-2 0 4 2
Cheeks 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Bremer 35 6-14 2-5 2-3 3 2 17
Dziengeleski 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Siegrist 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Stinson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Rucker 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 250 29-77 13-22 17-39 15 23 80
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.377, FT-.591. 3-Point Goals:
9-32, .281 (Prato 4-7, D Messiah Capers 1-6, Winn
1-10, Bremer 3-8, Siegrist 0-1). Team rebounds:
3. Blocked shots: 3 (Cyrus 2, V Massiah).
Turnovers: 10 (D Messiah Capers 4, Winn 3, Cyrus,
Prato, Van Paassen). Steals: 9 (Winn 4, Bremer 2,
D Messiah Capers 2, Cyrus).
KENTUCKY (85)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Prince 48 8-17 7-9 1-7 3 2 28
Camara 37 3-5 3-6 2-8 2 4 9
Magloire 43 4-7 3-5 1-9 0 3 11
Bogans 45 5-12 9-13 1-5 3 1 19
Smith 33 3-7 1-2 1-4 8 5 7
Blevins 26 3-5 0-0 0-1 0 0 7
Stone 18 2-3 0-0 3-6 0 2 4
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 250 28-56 23-35 9-40 16 17 85
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.657. 3-Point Goals:
6-21, .286 (Prince 5-9, Bogans 0-5, Smith 0-4,
Blevins 1-3). Team rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 7
(Prince 3, Camara 3, Stone). Turnovers: 18 (Smith
5, Magloire 4, Prince 3, Blevins 2, Bogans 2,
Camara 2). Steals: 5 (Smith 2, Bogans, Camara,
Prince).
____________________________________________
St Bonaventure 28 35 13 4 - 80
Kentucky 36 27 13 9 - 85
____________________________________________
Technical fouls: St Bonaventure 1 (Cyrus).
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