NEW YORK — University of Kentucky basketball fans looking for some consolation in the Wildcats' 97-92 overtime loss to UCLA Friday night in the consolation game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Ikon Classic need only look at what happened in this event a year ago.

        Duke lost both of its games here, then won its next 18.

        Kentucky, which is 0-2 for the first time since the 1975-76 season, has a model to follow.

        Coach Tubby Smith, seemingly bracing himself and his players for the barrage of talk-show banter and Internet postings sure to come, didn't predict an 18-game winning streak, but he did say Duke's feat could be an inspiration for his team.

        “That's the most encouraging part about it; that's the positive thing we have to take from this thing,” he said. “Our players realize, from their comments and their responses at the end of this game, that they know what they need to do.

        “We talked about what we need to do and that we're a good team, and that's what we want them to believe. It takes time for them to believe that, because they can be pretty tough in Kentucky on a young man — and on the coach, too.”

        The Cats, coming off a 62-61 loss to St.John's in which they blew a four-point lead in the final 10 seconds, played much better against the Bruins in a game that featured 23 lead changes and eight ties.

        Neither team led by more than seven in regulation. Kentucky rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 3:35 to force the overtime at 77-77. But after the Wildcats jumped to an 80-77 lead, Ray

        Young sparked an 11-0 run during which Kentucky missed four shots and committed a turnover.

        The Cats got as close as two in the closing seconds on Keith Bogans' sixth 3-pointer, but a breakaway dunk by T.J. Cummings with 2.3 seconds left cemented the victory.

        It was Smith's first loss in eight overtime games at Kentucky.

        “I was proud of our guys and the way we responded and bounced back from (Thursday) night's game,” he said. “That was devastating to lose it that way, but our guys were upbeat and positive, and we played with energy and enthusiasm. We just came up a little bit short.”

        “We've just got to stay positive,” said Bogans, a sophomore who tied his career best with a game-high 25 points.

        Tayshaun Prince added 20 points, Saul Smith 13 and Jason Parker, Marvin Stone, Marquis Estill and Erik Daniels eight apiece for Kentucky, which cut its turnovers (13) in half from the night before and shot much better (13-of-36) from the 3-point line.

        Unfortunately for the Cats, they couldn't stop the Bruins. All five UCLA starters hit double figures, led by Jason Kapono's 21 points. Young and point guard Earl Watson had 20 each, center Dan Gadzuric 16 and Matt Barnes 10.

        Kapono, who hit five 3- pointers, fouled out with 3:35 left in regulation, but the Cats couldn't take advantage of it.

        “We weren't playing against just Jason Kapono,” Tubby Smith said. “We were playing against UCLA, and we found that out. They've got some very talented players who stepped up and made some big shots down the stretch.”

        None was bigger than the deep-in-the-corner 3-pointer Young buried during the 11-0 overtime run.

        “That shot helped,” said Young, “but I think what really got us over the top was the defensive stops on the other end. We were able to rattle them a little bit and have them take harder shots than they probably wanted to in their offense.”

        UCLA (1-1) — Barnes 3-9 4-7 10, Kapono, 6-12 4-4 21, Gadzuric 6-10 4-7 16, Watson 8-14 4-6 20, Young 7-12 3-4 20, Cummings 3-10 2-6 8, Knight 0-4 2-4 2, Bailey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-71 23-38 97.

        KENTUCKY (0-2) — Parker 3-7 2-2 8, Prince 7-15 4-6 20, Stone 3-5 2-8 8, Bogans 8-14 3-3 25, Smith 4-14 1-2 13, Estill 3-8 2-2 8, Hawkins 0-0-0 0, Daniels 3-3 3-3 8, Blevins 0-2 0-0 0, Fitch 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 31-71 17-28 92.

        Halftime—UCLA 42, Kentucky 41. End of Regulation—UCLA 77, Kentucky 77. 3-Point goals—UCLA 8-21 (Kapono 5-7, Young 3-7, Barnes 0-1, Knight 0-3), Kentucky 13-36 (Bogans 6-8, Smith 4-12, Prince 2-8, Daniels 1-1, Stone 0-1, Estill 0-2, Blevins 0-2, Fitch 0-2). Fouled out—Kapono. Rebounds— UCLA 43 (Gadzuric 14), Kentucky 49 (Estill 11). Assists—UCLA 20 (Watson 9), Kentucky 20 (Smith 8). Total fouls—UCLA 20, Kentucky 28. A—NA.

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