NO. 25 KENTUCKY (15-4, 4-1 SEC) - University of Kentucky Athletics

13
Rupp Arena (23,528)
Lexington, Ky. • Dec. 30, 2006
Eastern Kentucky 65
Kentucky 78
Randolph Morris matched a career high with 25 points and
Ramel Bradley had 20 as Kentucky pushed its winning streak to six
with a 78-65 victory over Eastern Kentucky.
Morris, who was 9 for 12 from the field, added 10 rebounds for
his fourth double-double of the season. He didn't pick up his first
and only foul until late in the game when the Wildcats led by 13.
As it turned out, the Wildcats needed their junior center to produce
inside because of the career day Eastern Kentucky's freshman
guard Adam Leonard turned in from outside. Leonard had a
career-high 20 points - all but two of them from beyond the arc.
Last season was the first since 1989-90 that Kentucky didn't
manage at least one streak of six or more wins. They moved to 10-
0 all-time against the Colonels, who they met most recently in the
first round of the 2005NCAA tournament.
Every time Kentucky tried to pull away early, the Colonels
seemed to nail a 3-pointer to stay close. Leonard made his first
seven shots - six of them from 3-point range - including one that cut
the Wildcats' lead to 40-39 early in the second half.
But Bradley followed with Kentucky's first 3-pointer in 10 tries,
then made a diving steal and fed Morris for a layup that extended
Kentucky's lead to 45-39. Bradley caught fire in the second half
and ended up 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
The Colonels never led after a Leonard 3 gave them an 18-17
lead less than seven minutes into the game, but they did manage
to tie up the Wildcats twice after that.
Kentucky made only four of its first 16 shots and had no assists
in the first 10 minutes, but quickly corrected course. The Wildcats
made 52 percent of their shots and dominated the boards 38-26.
EKU (8-4) FG 3FG FT R F Pts A TO B S M
21 Dialls f 6-10 0-0 3-4 5 4 15 1 2 0 2 24
34 Douglas f 1-2 1-1 0-0 2 3 3 0 1 1 0 34
10 Leonard g 7-8 6-6 0-0 5 2 20 1 0 0 2 33
20 Rose g 2-17 2-10 1-2 5 1 7 1 3 0 0 30
23 Mascoll g 4-6 0-0 1-3 4 1 9 2 4 0 1 32
3 Mestdagh 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6
13 Brown 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 8
15 Brock 2-4 0-1 0-0 4 1 4 0 1 0 0 18
22 Daniel 2-4 1-2 0-0 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 10
24 Taylor 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
TEAM
Totals.............. 25-57 10-24 5-9 26 14 65 7 11 1 5 200
Kentucky (10-3) FG 3FG FT R F Pts A TO B S M
13 Perry f 3-9 1-2 0-0 5 1 7 2 2 1 0 25
33 Morris c 9-12 0-0 7-10 10 1 25 2 1 3 0 31
3 Bradley g 6-10 4-7 4-4 5 0 20 4 1 0 5 36
5 Jasper g 2-2 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 3 1 0 1 23
32 Crawford g 6-12 1-5 0-2 4 2 13 1 3 0 0 35
1 Porter 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6
10 Obrzut 0-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
20 Meeks 2-5 0-2 1-1 1 1 5 0 0 0 1 12
21 Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 4
23 Thomas 1-3 0-1 2-2 4 2 4 1 1 0 1 19
TEAM 1
Totals.............. 29-56 6-18 14-19 38 8 78 14 11 5 8 200
1st 2nd Tot FG% 3FG% FT% Paint P-TO 2nd Bnch
EKU 28 37 65 .439 .417 .556 28 9 9 11
Kentucky 34 44 78 .518 .333 .737 45 13 16 9
Officials: Rick Crawford, Antinio Petty, Jeff Nichols; Technicals: None.
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL
14
Rupp Arena (22,311)
Lexington, Ky. • Jan. 3, 2007
Houston 70
Kentucky 77
Kentucky had its worst shooting game of the season but held
off Houston 77-70 to survive a scare in its final tuneup before
Southeastern Conference play.
The Wildcats never trailed but couldn't pull away from the
Cougars despite leading 10-0 early. They shot just 39 percent from
the field - surpassing the season-worst 41 percent last month in a
victory over Santa Clara.
A 3-point play by Oliver Lafayette with less than three minutes
to go tied the game at 68, but Randolph Morris hit a turn-around
jumper to give the Wildcats the lead for good.
Morris led the team with 20 points - 10 of them from the freethrow
line. He added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in
six games.
The Cougars, who lost three in a row prior to their visit to Rupp
Arena, kept making clutch 3-pointers to keep it close. Lafayette led
all Cougars scorers with 19 points.
Kentucky, which won its seventh in a row, begins conference
play Saturday at Mississippi.
Houston (5-7) FG 3FG FT R F Pts A TO B S M
01 Dowell f 7-17 4-9 0-3 5 4 18 0 1 1 1 39
24 Thorpe f 2-5 0-0 2-3 6 1 6 1 2 1 0 35
02 Lee g 4-12 0-3 0-0 7 4 8 1 0 1 2 27
03 McKiver g 7-19 2-10 0-0 4 2 16 5 2 0 0 40
20 Lafayette g 6-19 4-10 3-3 9 3 19 6 1 0 3 38
05 Malone 1-3 1-2 0-0 4 3 3 0 2 0 0 15
42 Toney 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
TEAM 3
Totals.............. 27-75 11-34 5-9 39 18 70 13 8 3 6 200
Kentucky (11-3) FG 3FG FT R F Pts A TO B S M
13 Perry f 2-11 0-4 4-4 6 1 8 0 1 0 1 22
33 Morris c 5-10 0-0 10-12 10 0 20 3 3 4 0 34
03 Bradley g 4-13 3-10 0-0 7 1 11 2 1 0 1 35
05 Jasper g 5-6 1-2 1-2 3 4 12 6 2 0 0 29
32 Crawford g 4-12 2-7 0-0 4 1 10 4 1 0 2 32
01 Porter 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
10 Obrzut 1-1 0-0 1-2 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 6
20 Meeks 3-8 1-4 1-1 9 0 8 1 1 0 0 22
21 Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3
23 Thomas 2-4 1-2 0-1 7 2 5 2 0 0 0 15
TEAM 3
Totals.............. 26-66 8-30 17-24 51 9 77 19 10 4 4 200
1st 2nd Tot FG% 3FG% FT% Paint P-TO 2nd Bnch
Houston 32 38 70 .360 .324 .556 30 19 13 3
Kentucky 39 38 77 .394 .267 .708 26 8 11 16
Officials: Ted Valentine, Doug Shows, Pat Adams; Technicals: None.
2006-07 KENTUCKY WILDCATS
15
Tad Smith Coliseum (8,754)
Oxford, Miss. • Jan. 6, 2007
Kentucky 68
Ole Miss 58
With a seven-game winning streak in jeopardy, Kentucky delivered
defensively when the Wildcats needed it most.
Kentucky limited Ole Miss to 2-of-13 from the field over the last
12 minutes as it beat Mississippi 68-58 in the SEC opener for both
schools.
"That was our best defensive effort of the year," Kentucky
coach Tubby Smith said. "That's what won it for us. We really
defended the perimeter."
Joe Crawford led the Wildcats with 23 points - including 15 in
the second half. Kentucky, coming off a season-low shooting performance
in a win over Houston on Wednesday, finished 25-of-45
from the field.
Randolph Morris had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Ramel
Bradley added 13 points and five assists. Bradley was particularly
effective in the stretch run by the Wildcats, scoring eight consecutive
points during a 17-5 run to finish the game.
"Joe Crawford had a great game and Bradley was great at the
end," said Morris, who carried the Wildcats offensively until the
final 12 minutes. "We've got others that can score when I don't and
then it's up to me to play defense."
Todd Abernethy, who led Ole Miss with 17 points, accounted for
both baskets over the difficult final 12 minutes.
"That late surge, they just took the wind out of our sails and
crushed us," Abernethy said.
Dwayne Curtis had 13 points and 10 rebounds, battling Morris
to a draw on both counts. Clarence Sanders had 12 points and
Bam Doyne had 10 points for the Rebels, who managed only 22-
of-57 from the field.
"You can't beat Kentucky shooting 33 percent in the second
half," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "Kentucky stepped up
and made the big plays."
Both clubs were tied or swapped leads 19 times in the opening
28 minutes, with neither leading by more than six points.
The Rebels, who led 37-35 at halftime, appeared to gain control
with an 8-0 run that gave them a 53-51 lead with 12:02 left.
Instead, it was Kentucky's defense that found a higher gear.
Bradley and Crawford, who finished 4-of-5 from 3-point range,
established the offensive edge on the perimeter, taking the pressure
off Morris in the decisive late surge.
Jodie Meeks hit a 3-point shot, his only basket of the night, off
an assist from Bradley to give Kentucky a 56-53 lead with 8:56 left.
Kentucky never trailed again.
The Wildcats shot 10-of-18 from the field in the second half
while shutting down the Ole Miss offense.
Kentucky (12-3, 1-0) FG 3FG FT R F Pts A TO B S M
13 Perry f 1-4 0-2 1-2 2 0 3 2 0 0 0 18
33 Morris c 6-11 0-0 2-5 10 1 14 1 1 0 3 32
03 Bradley g 4-7 3-4 2-3 7 3 13 5 5 1 0 37
05 Jasper g 3-4 0-1 1-2 2 4 7 4 3 1 0 18
32 Crawford g 8-10 4-5 3-3 2 2 23 4 1 0 1 37
01 Porter 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
10 Obrzut 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 8
20 Meeks 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 2 3 0 2 0 0 20
21 Stevenson 1-1 0-0 0-2 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 7
22 Harris 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
23 Thomas 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 18
TEAM 3
Totals.............. 25-44 8-16 10-19 32 13 68 18 13 2 5 200
Ole MIss (11-4, 0-1) FG 3FG FT R F Pts A TO B S M
44 Curtis f 6-11 0-0 1-1 10 2 13 0 3 0 2 35
50 Williams f 2-3 0-0 0-1 3 4 4 0 1 0 0 17
10 Abernethy g 6-10 2-3 3-4 2 0 17 3 4 0 1 33
12 Sanders g 5-15 2-9 0-0 4 2 12 3 1 0 1 36
20 Doyne g 3-13 0-5 4-6 2 4 10 2 0 1 0 32
03 Smith, B. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8
14 Polynice 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
25 Hampton 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 8
32 Parnell 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 25
55 Hardy 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM 4
Totals.............. 22-57 4-17 10-14 29 14 58 9 9 2 5 200
1st 2nd Tot FG% 3FG% FT% Paint P-TO 2nd Bnch
Kentucky 35 33 68 .568 .500 .526 32 8 6 8
Ole Miss 37 21 58 .386 .235 .714 26 4 8 2
Officials: Doug Shows, Pat Adams, Antinio Petty.
Technicals: None.