No. 16 Michigan State wins 13th in a row
December 31, 2011
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)—Michigan State coach Tom Izzo isn’t ready to call histeam great after its 13th straight win.
But he said the 16th-ranked Spartans showed they might be moving in thatdirection after beating Nebraska 68-55 on Saturday in a game that seemed closerthan the score.
The Spartans toughed this one out after being confounded for long stretchesby the Cornhuskers’ defense and squandering most of a 15-point lead in thesecond half.
Draymond Green scored 19 points and Keith Appling had eight of his 14 in thelast 7 minutes for Michigan State.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo … AP – Dec 31, 5:59 pm EST MISt-Neb Gallery
“We dealt with adversity three or four times, withstood it and I thought wedid execute once they cut that 15-point lead down and Appling made some plays,”Izzo said. “Sad to say, we didn’t play real well. I think they had something todo with it. I was not disappointed in our effort. I was disappointed in ourexecution at times.”
The Spartans (13-2, 2-0 Big Ten) are on their longest winning streak sincethe 1998-99 team won 22 straight. Eleven of the 13 have been by double digits.
Michigan State finished on a 15-5 run after Nebraska (8-5, 0-2) pulledwithin 53-50.
The Spartans won the game at the free throw line, making 19 of 21. Green hitall nine of his free throws.
“It’s our first Big Ten road game,” Green said. “Guys didn’t know what toexpect. That’s my job, to pick games up, to help pick those guys up.”
Bo Spencer scored 15 points and Toney McCray added 14 for the Huskers, whoshot 36 percent from the field and were outrebounded 38-24.
The Huskers made just one field goal over the last 6:48, and none afterAustin Thornton made a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 62-55 lead with 3:16left.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my team,” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. “Ithought they competed. I thought we played as hard as you can play, and Ithought we did it for 40 minutes.”
Michigan State has won its first two Big Ten games for the fifth straightseason. Nebraska is in the middle of a stretch of eight games in which sixopponents are ranked in the Top 25.
The Spartans proved too powerful inside against a Nebraska team that waswithout 6-foot-11 center Jorge Brian Diaz (sore feet) for a fourth straightgame. The Huskers also were missing their fourth-leading scorer, guard DylanTalley (thigh bruise).
The Huskers still turned in a game effort.
The slow-starting Spartans missed 8 of their first 9 shots, never led in thefirst half and were down 30-29 at the break. But 6 1/2 minutes into the secondhalf they were up by 15 points and looked ready to run away with the game.
“We tried to open the wing because they were trapping us so much,” Izzosaid. “We freed Keith up and he had a couple of those drives.”
Nebraska didn’t fold. Michigan State went 4 1/2 minutes without a field goal,Spencer’s 3-pointer finished a 16-4 run that pulled the Huskers to 53-50 withunder 9 minutes to play.
Appling scored six straight points to build the Spartans’ lead to 59-50, butNebraska came back again. McCray hit a 3-pointer and Spencer made two freethrows to make it 59-55 with 4:01 left.
Nebraska’s offense stalled after Thornton’s 3-pointer gave the Spartans aseven-point lead. Caleb Walker missed a 3 from the corner, Brandon Richardsoncommitted a turnover and Green blocked Walker’s 3-point try.
The Spartans didn’t take their first lead until their opening possession ofthe second half, when Appling drove the lane to start a 18-4 run.
The Huskers opened the game much the way they did on Tuesday against No. 11Wisconsin, when they carried the play before getting worn down and losing 64-40.
“I wasn’t for sure that our team competed for 40 minutes againstWisconsin,” Sadler said. “I thought we got down and frustrated. Tonight for 40minutes our guys played as hard as they can play.”
Spencer’s consecutive 3-pointers gave the Huskers a 12-4 lead 5 minutes in,and Michigan State missed eight of its first nine shots on its way to 39-percentfirst-half shooting.
“You’ve got a hell of a coach, because the guy did a lot better job than Idid today,” Izzo said. “His team played as hard as anybody we’ve played. Givecredit to Doc on that. Early they were swarming, they were moving.”
Michigan State kept it close the first half largely because of its 22-10rebounding advantage, including a 9-1 advantage on the offensive end.
Appling said the winning streak is the furthest thing from his mind. Afterall, the Spartans are on the road again on Tuesday at No. 11 Wisconsin, which iscoming off a loss at home to Iowa.
“We’ve just got to keep on playing,” Appling said. “That (win streak)really doesn’t mean anything. We’ve just got to keep going.”
Georgetown wins ugly for 10th straight
December 31, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP)—No 12 Georgetown blew a 14-point lead against a schoolthat hasn’t won a Big East road game in nearly two years. The Hoyas couldn’tmake a jump shot, couldn’t make a layup. All the momentum lay with Providencedown the stretch.
Henry Sims was as frustrated as anyone. He was 1 for 11 from the field whenhe grabbed an offensive rebound, put the ball up and finally watched one fallthrough the net.
The play capped a 6-0 run, a timely response after the Friars had tied thegame. The Hoyas held on for a 49-40 victory Saturday, winning their 10thstraight despite shooting a season-low 30.5 percent from the field. It’s theworst Georgetown has shot in a win in eight seasons under coach John ThompsonIII.
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“When that putback went in—big sigh of relief,” Sims said. “Games likethis, I’ve got to do little things. Find my teammates when my shots are notfalling, be helpful on the defensive end.”
Sims’ line reflected a Hoyas’ mixed bag of numbers: 2 for 13 from the fieldbut 7 for 9 from the free throw line, four turnovers but also four blocks, 11points and seven rebounds as well as three of Georgetown’s seven assists, astunningly low tally for the ball-movement offense preached by coach JohnThompson III.
“This was just an ugly game,” Thompson said. “We went for a long periodwhen we weren’t scoring, so you just have to figure out how to get stops, youhave to figure out how to get rebounds.”
Jason Clark had 16 points and eight rebounds for the taller, stronger Hoyas(12-1, 2-0), who had a 15-0 run early in the game and then held on despite theiroffensive struggles. Freshman Otto Porter grabbed 12 rebounds, including a keyputback of his own that made the score 43-40 with 4:04 remaining.
“Otto made the plays that you have to make to win games,” Thompson said.“And it was glaring today.”
The score was tied at 35 with 8 minutes to play before Georgetown closedwith a 14-5 run. The Hoyas have their longest winning streak since the 2006-07Final Four team won 11 straight. They are poised to move into the top 10 nextweek after their 71-68 victory at No. 4 Louisville on Wednesday.
LaDontae Henton had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead Providence (11-4,0-2), which shot 25.5 percent from the field, the worst the school has ever shotin a Big East game. The Friars have lost 17 straight conference road games and23 straight road games to ranked teams.
Providence first-year coach Ed Cooley said his players were “pathetic todayin every way” after a 24-point loss to St. John’s on Tuesday. He was pleased tosee a more competitive effort against the Hoyas.
“This was the first time, I think, as the head coach here at Providence wehad a complete 40 minutes of effort,” Cooley said.
The Friars scored only four points in the first 11 minutes and managed onlysix field goals while committing eight turnovers in the first half. The scorewas as close as it was because Georgetown wasn’t shooting well, either.
A modest 9-3 run by the Friars cut the Hoyas’ lead to 27-19 at halftime.Then Providence became more aggressive in the second half, attacking the basketand tying the game on a pair of free throws by Henton.
Clark’s putback put the Hoyas back ahead for good, ending Georgetown’s 6 1-2minute scoring drought. Sims then made two free throws and followed with theputback that produced his “big sigh of relief.”
“I thought we had momentum,” Cooley said. “A lot of it played into ourhands. It’s just when you’re limited on depth and you’re limited in certainareas, you’re going to come up short in some games. It was right there, and whatI told my team in the locker room is we’ve got to learn how to win.”
Providence’s Kadeem Batts, a sophomore, made his first start since returningfrom an academic suspension, giving the Friars one starter taller than 6-foot-6.He had four points and six rebounds before fouling out with 1:04 to play.
———
Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
Padres acquire OF Quentin from White Sox
December 31, 2011
SAN DIEGO (AP)—Being traded from the Chicago White Sox to his hometown SanDiego Padres couldn’t have been any more convenient for All-Star outfielderCarlos Quentin.
“I get a call and they said I’ve been traded to San Diego. I’m alreadyhere,” Quentin said on a conference call shortly after the trade was announcedSaturday.
Four years after trading Quentin from Arizona to the White Sox, new Padresgeneral manager Josh Byrnes is bringing him home.
Byrnes made his second bold move in two weeks when he acquired Quentin fortwo prospects.
“Trading him is pretty high on my list of regrets,” Byrnes said. “Thatgroup in Arizona had a lot of talent. Carlos always stood out for his intensityand his style of play. Having a chance to get him back became very appealinghere this offseason.”
The trade is expected to bolster San Diego’s offense, which was dreadful asthe Padres finished last in the NL West at 71-91, 23 games behind theDiamondbacks. Quentin has four consecutive 20-homer seasons, including 36 in2008.
“Improving our offense is a priority this offseason and the acquisition ofCarlos gives us a proven middle-of-the-order bat,” Byrnes said. “Wespecifically targeted Carlos because of his production and his hard-nosed styleof play.”
While Quentin started the last two seasons in right field for the White Sox,he’s penciled into left field with the Padres.
The White Sox received minor league pitchers Simon Castro, a right-hander,and Pedro Hernandez, a left-hander.
“San Diego came back and obviously put something on the table thatattracted us,” White Sox GM Ken Williams said. “Both of these guys are guysthat we can ultimately see, and we can see them very quickly here.”
Castro went 7-8 with a 5.63 ERA in 22 starts between Double-A San Antonioand Triple-A Tucson last season.
“He will be the first to admit that last year he did not distinguishhimself amongst some of his peers that were also considered top prospects at thetime,” Williams said. “We’ve got to get him back there. Just one year ago youwouldn’t have been able to get this type of guy.”
Williams said Dayan Viciedo goes into spring training as Chicago’s startingright fielder.
On Dec. 17, Byrnes dealt right-hander Mat Latos to the Cincinnati Reds forfour players, including starter Edinson Volquez and Yonder Alonso, the leadingcontender to start at first base.
The two moves reverse a recent Padres trend of dealing big leaguers forprospects and shedding salary. Byrnes said the Padres were able to make thesedeals because his predecessor, Jed Hoyer, did a good job of acquiring prospectsover the previous two years before he left to become GM of the Chicago Cubs.
“Talking to (CEO) Jeff Moorad, if we had ways to stretch our payroll, getthe right guys to be competitive in 2012, maybe be a surprise team in 2012, andwith that foundation that gives us a chance at real sustained success for anumber of years, that’s the ideal,” Byrnes said.
While GM of the Diamondbacks, Byrnes traded Quentin to the White Sox forminor league first baseman Chris Carter in December 2007. The Diamondbacks hadtaken Quentin in the first round of the 2003 amateur draft after he helpedStanford reach the College World Series three straight times.
Byrnes said the Diamondbacks had a surplus of outfielders in 2007 and movingQuentin helped build a trade package for Dan Haren, who was obtained fromOakland 11 days after Quentin was traded to Chicago. Carter was one of sixplayers Arizona sent to Oakland in the Haren deal.
“My real regret is really how much over time we missed his intensity,”said Byrnes, who oversaw an NL West title in 2007 with Arizona, but was fired inJuly 2010. “A group that had success and now failure and now success, couldhave used his personality around a little bit.”
A shoulder injury limited Quentin to just one game in the final month of2011, but Byrnes said the outfielder is healthy.
The 29-year-old Quentin hit .254 with 24 home runs, a career-high 31 doublesand 77 RBIs in 118 games in 2011, when he made his second All-Star team.
In 2008, he made his first All-Star team, won the Silver Slugger award andfinished in the top five of AL Most Valuable Player voting.
Quentin has heard the talk about how spacious Petco Park eats up fly balls,but isn’t worried.
“I was here when the park was first built and I’m familiar with it. Iplayed in it. I’m fortunate to have the size physically and be able to besuccessful personally. I’ve always had the approach of hitting first and stayingwithin myself. I’ve found that to be most ideal to produce power. I’m notplanning on changing that at all. I’ll become familiar with the ballpark.”
Byrnes thinks Quentin will be OK.
“He’s got huge power, so he has hit a good number of homers to right,right-center,” the GM said. “It’s a tall order for any player in Petco, butfrom center to the left-field foul pole, they’re gone in any park. … Since weplay half our games on the road, he’ll be a real threat. When we were down twoor three runs, we didn’t have enough of a threat in the lineup. We feel Carloswill bring that.”
The Padres hit the fewest homers in the majors (91); had the lowest battingaverage in the NL (.237); the second-highest strikeout total in the majors(1,320); and scored only 593 runs, second-lowest in the NL last season.
Quentin attended grade school in suburban Chula Vista and was a three-sportstandout at University of San Diego High. He was chosen San Diego’s Male Athleteof the Year in 2000.
He was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award during his last collegeseason, 2003.
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No. 10 Florida bounces back with rout
December 31, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)—Florida coach Billy Donovan was worried. His10th-ranked Gators had arrived back on campus 36 hours earlier after playing itspoorest game of the season.
He was concerned about his team being tired and dispirited after being upsetin double-overtime Thursday night at Rutgers..
Not to worry.
With Kenny Boynton scoring 26 points the Gators raced to a 90-70 victoryover Yale on Saturday with so signs of fatigue or the holiday blues.
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“For them to come back and do what they did, I was really proud of them,”Donovan said.
“I thought it was one of the best games we’ve played this year,” Donovansaid. “Coming out of the Rutgers game and as bad as we were … and on aone-day prep, I was really proud of them. “
Patric Young added 19 points, Erik Murphy had 18 and freshman Brad Bealscored 11for Florida (11-3), which hosts UAB on Jan. 3 before opening itsSoutheastern Conference schedule Jan. 7, at Tennessee.
Boynton, who came into the game averaging 18.9 points, had a big first halfmaking 6 of 7 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
“He’s efficient, he’s shooting a good percentage,” Donovan said. “To methat’s the sign of a great scorer. There’s a lot of guys who can score if theyget a lot of shots.”
Greg Mangano led Yale (8-4) with 26 points and Austin Morgan added 10.Mangano’s game-high 15 rebounds helped the Bulldogs to a 37-32 reboundadvantage.
“We were good today, but we had to be great to win,” Yale coach JamesJones said. “We were not great.”
Boynton, who matched his season-high in scoring, had 18 points by halftimeas the Gators took a 46-35 lead. Florida held its biggest lead at 83-57 with4:04 left.
Florida took the lead for keeps at 13-12 on a basket by Murphy after Yalestarted the game by making three straight 3-point shots to grab a 9-0 lead inthe opening 2 minutes.
“We’re figuring it out,” Donovan said. “They (players) are all gettingbetter.”
Yale hit 9 of 14 from 3-point range in the opening half to keep the scorerespectable with the 6-foot-10 Mangano perfect on three tries from longdistance. Mangano had 11 points and seven rebounds in the first half.
Both teams shot well from 3-point range. Yale connected on 11 of 21 withMangano hitting 5 of 7, while Florida was 12 of 21 with Boynton and Murphy eachgood on 5 of 7.
Florida shot 53.4 percent overall to Yale’s 42.9 percent.
Yale was also coming off a tough road loss Thursday night. Yale rallied froma 19-point deficit before having a six-game winning streak snapped at WakeForest.
“What’s good about these games is it gives us a gauge in terms of what weneed to do to get better,” Jones said about Yale’s two-game southern swing.“Now we get to go back and take care of some of the ways we were exposed.”
The Gators blew a seven-point lead in the final 3 minutes of regulation anda three-point lead with less than 20 seconds to go in the first overtime beforelosing at Rutgers. All three of Florida’s losses this season have come on theroad, the others against Syracuse and Ohio State, the nation’s Nos. 1 and 2teams. The Gators are 8-0 at home and 3-0 at neutral sites.
Hornets GM Demps moves past Paul trade
December 31, 2011
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP)—With the Chris Paul trade finally behind him, NewOrleans Hornets general manager Dell Demps is back to his regular routine oftraveling the country nonstop focusing on his current roster and the franchise’sfuture.
Demps attended the Hornets’ 93-78 home loss to Phoenix on Friday night, thenleft home at 4:30 a.m. Saturday for the Bay Area. He arrived in time to havebreakfast with his parents then attend the UCLA-California afternoon game to dosome scouting. He planned a late lunch with sister, Darrell, before meeting upwith the Hornets in Sacramento ahead of their Sunday game against the Kings.Then, it was off to Utah for New Orleans’ game against the Jazz.
In a week’s span, Demps will have hit five states. The Hornets opened inArizona against the Suns on Dec. 26, and Demps traveled to Seattle on Thursdayto see Oregon State at Washington. He took a redeye flight back to Louisiana forFriday’s game before heading out of town again.
Demps reiterated his support for Commissioner David Stern, saying Saturdaythere “was never a deal in place” to send Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.
New Orleans traded Paul to the Clippers on Dec. 14 for guard Eric Gordon,forward Al-Farouq Aminu, center Chris Kaman and a first-round draft choice.Stern approved the swap, which was required because the Hornets are owned by theleague.
Stern had taken heat for his role in nixing the first proposed trade of Paulto the Lakers, facing claims of potential conflicts of interest to hampering theteam’s pursuit of free agents. Stern said he was trying to do what was best forNew Orleans.
Demps said there wasn’t an agreement with the Lakers on money, which “was ahuge part of the trade.”
“Things got overblown,” Demps said at Haas Pavilion. “The first trade forChris Paul, it was never completed. The commissioner’s office is gettingunfairly portrayed. It escalated because the owner was David Stern and theplayer was Chris Paul. It was never submitted to the NBA. It was moving alongbut it was never finalized. There was never a deal in place.”
Now Demps is back to the kind of whirlwind schedule he prefers following thefrenzy of the last month dealing with the Paul trade and the rush to puttogether a roster that featured only five players under contract when thelockout ended.
“That’s part of it. That’s part of the calmness,” Demps said of his hectictravel schedule. “This is normal. For me it’s fun. I’m having a blast andgetting to do something I love. I get to watch basketball and I feel I’mlucky.”
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Iowa wins at No. 11 Wisconsin 72-65
December 31, 2011
MADISON, Wis. (AP)—The Iowa Hawkeyes started celebrating a few hoursbefore everybody else on Saturday.
Freshman Aaron White scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half andfellow reserve Bryce Cartwright added 17 as the Hawkeyes stunned No. 11Wisconsin 72-65.
“Any time you win on the road in this league, there’s a celebration,there’s an incredible sense of accomplishment,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery saidafter his team beat the Badgers for just the third time in the past 15 meetings.“(But) this is the 11th-ranked team in the country, on the road, with afabulous winning percentage here. I think our players know and understand whatthey had to overcome to make this happen.”
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Sophomore Melsahn Basabe added 14 points as the Hawkeyes (9-6, 1-1 Big Ten)snapped Wisconsin’s 23-game home winning streak against unranked opponents—thelast unranked team to beat the Badgers at the Kohl Center was Illinois, a 63-56winner on Feb. 9, 2010.
“We just came in with a definite mindset today to defy all the odds,” saidCartwright, a senior who came in averaging 5.9 points and has been coming offthe bench as he returns from a hamstring injury.
Cartwright scored 10 points in the second half, the last two a layup with1:55 remaining that put Iowa ahead 68-60 and sent many in the crowd of 17,230 tothe exits.
Wisconsin (12-3, 1-1), though, made one last surge.
Senior Jordan Taylor hit a 3-pointer and sophomore Ben Brust had a steal andlayup that pulled the Badgers within 68-65 with 47 seconds to go.
The Hawkeyes worked the shot clock on their next possession and sophomoreRoy Devyn Marble hit a jumper from the right of the lane with 21 secondsremaining, and Jared Berggren missed a 3 on the other end to seal Iowa’ssurprising victory.
“All we needed to do was get a stop,” said Taylor, who had 17 points tolead four players in double figures for Wisconsin. “We had them where we wanted… and Marble made a tough runner-floater right there off the right side. Thatwas a tough shot, and he made it.”
The Badgers, meanwhile, didn’t make nearly enough shots. They had theirsecond-worst shooting game of the season (34.8 percent) and were a dismal 3 for28 on 3-pointers on the same day their top-ranked defense allowed a season-highfor points. Wisconsin hadn’t allowed more than 61 points in its first 14 gamesand came in giving up an average of 44.4 points.
“If you hit shots, it’s amazing how much better your defense looks,”Badgers coach Bo Ryan said after his team had its six-game winning streaksnapped.
Iowa raced out to a 10-2 lead and led throughout the first half beforeWisconsin used a 9-0 run spanning halftime to take a seven-point lead. Whiteended the Hawkeyes’ barren stretch with a 3-pointer and went on to score 11 ofIowa’s first 15 points of the second half. His output was double that of hisseason average and he scored his 18 points in just 20 minutes.
“He was a little bit sideways in the first half, I thought,” McCafferysaid of White. “He came in and he got tired quick and he got a foul and hedidn’t get a rebound when he should have. He put his head down, and that’s whatfreshmen do. So we just said, `Play through it, be ready, and you’ll get yourshot in the second half.’ He’s just a really good basketball player.”
No. 3 Kentucky bests No. 4 Louisville
December 31, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)—Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hesitantly accepted aleadership role at first as the youngest member on No. 3 Kentucky’sprospect-laden roster. Comfortable with his status, there’s no telling just howfar he can carry the Wildcats.
“I’m very shy, but I’m getting better,” the 18-year-old forward said. “Ijust relax on the basketball court.”
Kidd-Gilchrist had season-highs with 24 points and 19 rebounds to leadKentucky in a rough-and-tumble 69-62 victory over No. 4 Louisville on Saturdayto extend the nation’s longest home winning streak.
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LEXINGTON, KY – DECEMBER 31: … Getty Images – Dec 31, 2:41 pm EST 1 of 68 Loui-UK Gallery
Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is assuming a leadership role with the Wildcats.(Getty Images)
“This is what I live for right here. Why? Because I’ve always been thatway,” Kidd-Gilchrist said of the physical play that at times turned it intomore like a free throw shooting contest with 52 fouls called. “I’m built forthis.”
And Kentucky (13-1) seems built for a long NCAA tournament run after fellowfreshman Anthony Davis added 18 points, all in the second half, as well as 10rebounds and six blocks in the annual in-state rivalry game.
The Cardinals (12-2) only led at 2-0, but gave Kentucky all it could handleafter rallying from an early 15-point deficit before tying it in the second halfthanks to Russ Smith, who had a career-high 30 points.
“I’ve never coached a team that is willing to give the effort that thisteam gives,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Unfortunately there are nomoral victories. We struggled shooting the basketball tonight.”
Kidd-Gilchrist’s hustle and Davis’ emergence following first-half foulproblems proved to be the difference with rapper Jay-Z, actress Ashley Judd andnearly a dozen NBA scouts watching.
With all the luminaries on hand, no one at Rupp Arena was more important toKidd-Gilchrist than his mother, Cindy Richardson, who attended after beingreleased from the hospital for an unspecified illness last week.
Kidd-Gilchrist said it meant a lot to see her at Rupp Arena after herhospital stay.
“It’s very hard to see my mother there,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “I wascrying my eyes out that night, but she fought through it.”
Kentucky has won 44 straight at home, including 43 in a row at Rupp Arena,for the nation’s longest streak ahead of Duke’s 43. This one will be rememberedafter the teams came in with the highest combined ranking in history.
With the game tied at 40 early in the second half, Louisville had a chanceto take its second lead but Peyton Siva never hit the rim on an 18-foot jumper.
Kentucky went on a 7-0 run from there, with Kidd-Gilchrist hitting one oftwo free throws and making a layup on another trip before Davis got to the lineand made four free throws over two possessions to make it 47-40.
Davis blocked Chris Smith on one end, then cleaned up Kentucky’s fast breakon the other to give the Wildcats a 49-42 lead. His alley-oop slam from DoronLamb made it 56-48 with 6:40 left.
The battles kept going after the whistle with Davis and Rakeem Bucklestangled up on an out-of-bounds play and Davis pleading for a foul.
On another one, Davis went flying into the crowd trying to make a save andlanded on an older woman in the front row. Kidd-Gilchrist came over, screaming,“A.D.! A.D.!” with a smile on his face as he pulled his teammate back towardthe court.
“The crowd was crazy because of the rivalry,” Davis said. “It was fun.”
Kidd-Gilchrist’s three-point play with 3:41 left gave the Wildcats a 61-50lead, its first beyond double digits since the first half, and Kentucky won itsthird straight in the series.
“He wasn’t bothered as much as some of the others by the physical play,”Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He almost relished it.”
Gorgui Dieng, who entered the second half with one foul, picked up three ina span of 2:20 to head to the bench with 16:08 left, but seconds later, Caliparipicked up a technical foul for his displeasure with the officiating.
Trailing 40-36, Russ Smith hit a 3-pointer and was fouled by Kidd-Gilchrist.He converted it to tie the game with 15:21 left, but Louisville never got overthe hump after also rallying from an 11-point deficit before losing against No.12 Georgetown for its first loss on Wednesday.
“We never feel like we are out of it,” Russ Smith said. “Any basketballplayer would know the game is not over until the 40 minutes is up, so we playhard. If we were down a few points less, it could have gotten interesting.”
Louisville freshman Chane Behanan was the first player to lose his cool inthis emotionally-charged matchup of schools separated by 78 miles. Behanan,recruited by both schools, had already picked up an early foul when he wascalled for a charge and assessed a technical for his reaction with 16:16 left inthe first half.
Louisville opened with a 2-0 lead, but Darius Miller answered with a3-pointer and Kidd-Gilchrist was the only Wildcat to make a field goal over thenext 13:45 as Kentucky feasted at the foul line to build a 31-16 lead.
Trailing by 15 points, Louisville’s two Smiths mounted a 13-0 run to get theCardinals back in the game as Kentucky ended up taking a 36-33 lead at the half.
Louisville would tie it before 5 minutes passed in the second half, butnever could mount a push to take control in one of the most hyped games sincethe 1983-84 season opener when No. 2 Kentucky topped No. 6 Louisville followingthe Cardinals’ 1983 Final Four appearance.
If either of these clubs return to the Final Four this year, this game willbe remembered, too.
“It was crazy out there,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “And I’m (just) afreshman.”
Blue Jays sign LHP Laffey
December 31, 2011
TORONTO (AP)—The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contractwith left-hander Aaron Laffey and invited him to spring training.
Laffey was 3-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 47 relief appearances for Seattle and theNew York Yankees last season. He held left-handed batters to a .242 average.
The Blue Jays have also signed on Saturday right-handers Jerry Gil, GarretMock and Robert Coello, and shortstop Brian Bocock to minor league contracts andinvited them to spring training.
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Ohio St. TE Stoneburner may face Florida
December 31, 2011
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)—Ohio State tight end Jake Stoneburner, who is tiedfor the team lead with seven touchdowns, has returned to practice following kneesurgery and could play against Florida in the Gator Bowl.
Interim coach Luke Fickell says Stoneburner had surgery following a 40-34loss at Michigan in late November. Fickell says Stoneburner won’t be able toplay much Monday because “he’s not in the shape to get back in there.”
Fickell adds Saturday that the Buckeyes hope to “have some situationalthings that we can use him on.”
Stoneburner has started every game this season. He has 14 receptions for 193yards, giving him 37 catches for 445 yards and nine touchdowns in three seasons.
Also, linebacker Andrew Sweat is expected to return after missing the lasttwo games.
Calhoun-less UConn tops St.. John’s
December 31, 2011
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)—Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun couldn’t attendSaturday’s win over St. John’s. His players said they could hear him in theirheads yelling at them to finish stronger.
The Huskies let a 23-point second-half lead slip to 11 before finallybeating the Red Storm 83-69 in the second game of Calhoun’s three-game NCAAsuspension for recruiting violations.
Shabazz Napier had 17 points and nine assists to lead the Huskies. FreshmanAndre Drummond added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Jeremy Lamb chipped in with15 points as UConn (12-1, 2-0 Big East) won its seventh straight game.
“Our problem is we look at the score, we see we’re up and we start playingthe score,” Napier said. “I told the guys we can’t do that. I don’t like howselfish we are at times. But, we’ll get everything together.”
D’Angelo Harrison had 17 points, and fellow freshman Moe Harkless and juniorGod’sgift Achiuwa each added 16 for St. John’s (7-6, 1-1), which lost for thefirst time in four games.
St. John’s also was without its head coach as Steve Lavin continues torecover from prostate cancer surgery in October. Lavin, who coached four gamesthis season, missed his seventh consecutive game. There is no timetable for hisreturn, thought he continues to attend practice and handle recruiting duties.
But Harkless said he doesn’t want to hear excuses for the loss, even on ateam that starts four freshmen.
“I don’t like it when people say that we’re young and that’s the reasonwhy,” he said. “Because it doesn’t matter about that, it matters about yourheart. We just didn’t come out hitting shots.”
A steal and dunk by freshman Ryan Boatright gave UConn a 13-4 lead. TheHuskies, who came in averaging six 3-pointers per game, had five in the first 14minutes. They finished nine of 16 in the game.
UConn held St. Johns to 25 percent shooting in the first half and 36 percentfor the game. St. John’s, which came in hitting just 28 percent of its 3-pointshots, made just four of 24 and were 1 of 13 in falling behind 38-25 athalftime.
The Huskies opened the second half with two dunks by Drummond on alley-ooppasses.
“I would like to see them do it about 15 more times, and I would like tosee Andre get in position to do it 15 more times” said associate head coachGeorge Blaney, who coached in Calhoun’s absence. “He’s so effortless with howhe can rise up and catch it. He doesn’t miss anything when his hands are aroundit.”
The Huskies hit their first six shots of the second half, including a3-pointer by Lamb who was fouled and also made the free throw, to give theHuskies a 52-35 lead.
Drummond’s driving floater put UConn up 65-44 midway through the second halfand Huskies led by as many as 23 points before St. John’s made a final run,cutting the UConn lead to 72-61 with 2:48 remaining on a dunk by Sir’DominicPointer.
But Napier closed out the game by hurdling over a fallen Amir Garrett for alayup to make it 79-64 with a minute left.
“As usual, we kind of let them back in as we were up,” Drummond said.“We’re working on it and we’re going to get it and we’re going to get thatkiller instinct that we’re looking for.”
Connecticut is 2-0 to start a Big East season for the first time since2003-04, when the Huskies won their second of three national titles.
Calhoun, who was suspended for three conference games by the NCAA forfailing to create an atmosphere of compliance within the program, will sit outTuesday’s game at Seton Hall before returning to the sidelines at Rutgers nextSaturday.
“We definitely want to get 3 and 0 for him and for ourselves,” Lamb said.“We want to win just as bad as he do. I know it’s hard for him watching. We’restill running coach Calhoun’s system. One more game and we’ll be good.”
Harkless, a former UConn recruit who was coming off a Big East freshmandebut-record 32 points in a win over Providence last week, hit just two of hisfirst seven shots.
“I think that I should have did a better job of in the end trying to takeover the game,” he said. “I didn’t assert myself as much as I should have.”
The Red Storm had won the last two meetings with UConn, in the regularseason last year and in the 2010 Big East tournament. But the Huskies have won10 of the last 11 against the Red Storm in the regular season, including eightstraight at home.
The game is the first in a tough stretch for St. John’s which also faces No.4 Louisville, No. 14 Marquette and No. 12 Georgetown in the first half ofJanuary.
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