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Kentucky Rolls Over Chaminade
89 - 57
In Spite OS Hawaii's Taboo
Photos By; John Folz
Kentucky basketball is an awesome name in the collegiate basketball world. Big Blue basketball has become a way of life in the Bluegrass State because the game means so much to everyone involved. Yes, the game is more important here than most places.
Thanks to such dedication, UK waltzed through the land of Silverswords in Honolulu without a single drop of blood and clobbered Chaminade University 89-57 last Tuesday.
It was not the win as much as the margin of victory which surprised many basketball experts. For this is the small NAIA university which has upset some very big names in recent years, names like Virginia, SMU and Louisville twice.
But Kentucky learned from other visitors' mistakes. They jumped on the homestanding natives early, took a decisive 44-25 halftime lead and never look back.
"This team (Chaminade) has beaten a lot of quality teams and we were in a position to be upset also," UK coach Eddie Sutton said after the game, "but our kids knew they had to play hard and they did. Overall, we played a very fine game."
That, the Cats did in winning their second consecutive game of the year. Sophomore guard Ed Davender led the way in the opening half with 14 points as the Cats hit a blistering 57.5 percent from the field.
In the process, Kentucky took no prisoners. The Wildcats applied pressure from the opening tip-off and after a couple early ties at 2 and 4, Kentucky was off and running at 6-4 on a Kenny Walker 15-lboter at 17:12.
Kentucky never looked back.
Davender and senior guard Roger Harden overplayed the passing lanes and forced 17 first-half turnovers as the Wildcats slowly built a commanding lead. Davender's 14 first half points was followed by Walker with 10 and junior forward Winston Bennett chipped in with 8. UK's biggest first-half lead was 44-25.
"Chaminade came out with a triangle-two defense that had their big people playing a zone and guards playing man," said Sutton. "It confused us for a while but then our guys started getting the ball to spots and we shot the ball well early. When our defense plays as active as ours did in the first half, it is difficult for a lot of people to stay with us."
Kentucky looked a bit sluggish at the start of the second half and Sutton looks a bit upset as the Wildcats appeared to be going for averages rather than team play. He wasted no time in reminding the Wildcats they were here to work and then play.
Leading 48-29, he took out-the five starters and put in the reserves with 16:36 left in the game. But the punishment didn't last long.
Walker returned a few minutes later and wound up leading the Cats with 22 points while pulling down five rebounds. The ball-hawking Davender. who had five of the Cats' 17 steals, finished with 20. Guard James Blackmon scored 14 points and Harden enjoyed a team-high eight assists.
The Cats' largest lead of the night came with 1:17 left in the game when 5-5 guard Leroy Byrd hit a driving layup for an 87-53 advantage. Sutton said it was a typical Kenny Walker performance.
"Kenny Walker is the best player in the college game," said Sutton. "He can play inside or outside and he always gets double- or tipled-teamed every time he gets into the paint area."
Chaminade was led by forward John Wyatt with 12 points. Guard Rod McCray had II for the losers.
But no Silversword really played well. Coach Merv Lopes, who had the 'Swords playing well in their last outing with Virginia Tech on Maui, made a quick exit after the game. But assistant Thomas Louden stayed aroudn to point out what was apparentthat the Cats' guards were just too quick for the 'Swords.