Thursday, February 15, 2001
Kentucky 103, Tennessee 95
Prince, Bogans lead UK to 6th win in row
The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Another strong first half by Kentucky was enough to end Tennessee's hopes of regaining the momentum it had earlier in the season.
The No.22 Wildcats (16-7, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) shot a blistering 71 percent on 3-pointers in the first half and finished 14-of-21 from long range in a 103-95 win over No.15 Tennessee (18-7, 5-6) on Wednesday night. Tayshaun Prince scored a career-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers.
“Kentucky played as nearly a perfect a first half as I've seen while I've been at the University of Tennessee,” Volunteers coach Jerry Green said.
In the Wildcats' 84-74 win on Jan.16, Kentucky led by as many as 16 points early and didn't relinquish the lead.
After Tennessee took a 12-3 lead early in the second game, it was all Kentucky.
The Wildcats got hot from beyond the 3-point arc. Bogans hit a 3 to start an 11-0 run. Prince hit another 2 1/2 minutes later for a 14-12 lead.
Vincent Yarbrough's jumper tied it at 14 and Harris Walker hit a 3 to pull Tennessee to 22-19, but Kentucky expanded its lead from there.
Prince's 3 with 6:39 remaining in the first half put Kentucky up 34-24, and Gerald Fitch got in the act with another 3 four minutes later for a 41-29 lead.
“Shooting the ball well was a big key,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “When Tayshaun plays well, we play well. Our first half may have been the best of the season if you take away the first few minutes.”
The Wildcats extended their winning streak to six despite winning only their third SEC road game.
The struggles continued for Tennessee, which had won 18 straight at home, but had not won at all since its last home game against Vanderbilt on Feb. 3.
The Vols, playing without injured point guard Tony Harris, lost three in a row for the first time since January, 1998. Harris missed his second game because of a sprained ankle.
“We missed Tony in every play we have. We're not as good a team without him,” Green said.
The Vols cut Kentucky's lead to four with 2:19 left after a 13-1 run in which Isiah Victor scored five straight points.
Then Ron Slay and Bogans went for a loose ball by the Kentucky bench. The rest of the Wildcats encircled them on the floor. Harris jumped off the Tennessee bench, throwing down a towel, and ran toward the scuffle.
Harris was ejected and asked to leave the court. Officials said after the game that Harris would not be punished further.
Slay was assessed a foul, his fifth, and Bogans made both free throws for a 95-89 lead. But Walker drove to the basket and then Yarbrough scored again to cut it to 95-93 with 1:40 left.
Fitch and Prince made two free throws apiece to restore the Wildcats' lead to six with 47.4 seconds left.
KENTUCKY (103)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Parker 17 5-5 0-4 2-5 0 4 10
Bogans 33 8-16 2-3 1-7 6 3 22
Prince 28 9-13 6-6 0-5 1 4 30
Smith 32 3-4 1-3 1-2 8 1 9
Fitch 29 3-6 4-6 6-11 5 1 11
Hawkins 8 1-3 2-2 0-1 0 4 4
Blevins 11 1-2 0-0 0-2 1 0 3
Daniels 9 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 2
Stone 23 4-7 0-0 1-3 2 3 8
Estill 10 1-1 2-2 2-4 2 3 4
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 36-59 17-26 13-40 26 25 103
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.610, FT-.654. 3-Point Goals:
14-21, .667 (Bogans 4-8, Prince 6-7, Smith 2-3,
Fitch 1-1, Blevins 1-2). Team rebounds: 2.
Blocked shots: 4 (Daniels 2, Bogans, Stone).
Turnovers: 19 (Fitch 4, Smith 4, Bogans 3, Parker
2, Stone 2, Daniels, Estill, Hawkins, Prince).
Steals: 4 (Smith 2, Daniels, Fitch).
TENNESSEE (95)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Slay 33 7-14 4-7 4-9 1 5 18
Victor 24 6-9 9-13 2-5 0 3 21
Hathaway 17 1-2 0-2 4-5 0 2 2
Higgins 34 2-6 0-0 1-4 4 3 6
Yarbrough 31 10-19 5-7 3-3 1 4 28
Grindstaff 17 0-3 0-0 0-0 4 2 0
Walker 18 5-6 0-0 1-3 3 4 12
Haislip 13 1-5 0-2 1-3 0 0 3
Woods 13 2-9 0-0 1-1 2 0 5
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 34-73 18-31 17-33 15 23 95
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.466, FT-.581. 3-Point Goals:
9-26, .346 (Slay 0-2, Victor 0-1, Higgins 2-5,
Yarbrough 3-7, Grindstaff 0-1, Walker 2-3,
Haislip 1-2, Woods 1-5). Team rebounds: 3.
Blocked shots: 3 (Haislip 3). Turnovers: 10
(Victor 3, Yarbrough 3, Grindstaff 2, Slay 2).
Steals: 12 (Yarbrough 3, Grindstaff 2, Slay 2,
Hathaway, Higgins, Victor, Walker, Woods).
__________________________________
Kentucky 50 53 - 103
Tennessee 39 56 - 95
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 19,341. Officials:
Thomas Wood, Rick Crawford, Bryan Kersey.
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Kentucky 103, Tennessee 95
