Sunday, December 22, 2002
No. 18 Kentucky handed No. 6 Indiana its first loss of the season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- No. 18 Kentucky beat sixth-ranked Indiana 70-64 Saturday, making five free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining after Hoosiers coach Mike Davis was ejected for running on the court to protest a non-call on a possible game-winning layup by freshman Bracey Wright.
The Wildcats (6-2) took a 65-64 lead on a layup by Marquis Estill with 12.8 seconds left, the sixth lead change over the final 2:16.
The Hoosiers (8-1) didn't call a timeout in the closing seconds and the ball ended up in the hands of Wright, Indiana's leading scorer.
He drove to the basket, but missed a layup off the side of the backboard.
Kentucky rebounded, but Davis exploded off the Indiana bench and ran to confront referee Bert Smith near the free throw line. He slapped his forehead and screamed that Wright was hit in the face by Kentucky center Jules Camara.
Television replays showed that Indiana's Jeff Newton, not Camara, inadvertently grazed Wright.
Smith gave Davis plenty of leeway before calling two technical fouls as the furious coach followed him to midcourt.
Kentucky's Keith Bogans made five of the six ensuing free throws for the final margin.
Bogans led Kentucky with 17 points.
Newton scored 24 points -- one off a career high -- and Wright added 18 for Indiana.
No. 12 Illinois 85, No. 11 Missouri 70
ST. LOUIS -- Freshman Dee Brown had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds as Illinois, often dominating play, beat in the annual Braggin' Rights game.
The Illini (8-0) beat Missouri (6-1) with three freshmen in the starting lineup.
Brown and Ricky Clemons played to a virtual standstill in a battle of point guards. Clemons had 16 points and three assists and hit four 3-pointers.
But Illinois excelled inside against an experienced Missouri front line, outrebounding the Tigers 42-32. Brian Cook barely missed his second straight double-double with 17 points, hitting all 10 free throws, and nine rebounds. Five others contributed four or more rebounds apiece.
Missouri's Arthur Johnson got into early foul trouble, finishing with eight points and three rebounds. He had been averaging 17 points and eight boards.
Missouri's Rickey Paulding matched his average with 17 points. Freshman Jimmy McKinney added 15 points.
No. 15 Michigan St. 65,South Florida 56
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State's stingy starting defense did enough to allow the Spartans to coast the rest of the way.
Chris Hill and Alan Anderson each scored 12 points as No. 15 Michigan State beat South Florida 65-56 Saturday, its 35th consecutive home victory over a non-conference opponent.
The Spartans (7-2) held South Florida without a field goal for the opening 11:25 as they took a 22-4 lead.
After the strong start, the Spartans seemed to go through the motions. They couldn't build much upon their huge initial cushion, but did maintain a double-digit lead until the final minute.
Will McDonald and Brian Swift led South Florida (5-3) with 15 points apiece.
Freshman forward Erazem Lorbek made his first start in place of senior Adam Ballinger, who started each of the previous eight games and 25 of 27 last season. Lorbek scored nine points, missing only one shot, and had four rebounds. Ballinger scored two on 1-of-5 shooting.
Michigan State's Kelvin Torbert had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Wisconsin 81, Texas Southern 58
MADISON, Wis. -- Kirk Penney scored 23 points, and Alando Tucker had 22 points, including five 3-pointers, for Wisconsin (7-2).
Wisconsin was up by as many as 26 points during in the second half and outscored Texas Southern 24-14 in the paint. Wisconsin scored 22 of its points off of Texas Southern's 19 turnovers.
Lionel Willis led Texas Southern with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Michigan 70, Vanderbilt 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- LaVell Blanchard scored 19 points and Daniel Horton added 17 as Michigan defeated Vanderbilt 70-66 on Saturday.
The victory was the third straight for the Wolverines, who started the season 0-6.
Brian Thornton led the Commodores (6-3) with 20 points. Mario Moore added 10.