"1 don't know if we were nervous or what, but we just didn't handle the press." said Louden.
That was an understatement. The Silverswords committed 32 turnovers and also didn't shoot well, considering some of the shots they took.
From the outset, the Wildcats looked like the home team and the Silverswords the visitors. And Louden knew it.
"We didn't come out with the necessary intensity to handle a teama like Kentucky," said Louden. "We didn't handle the press and that got us down. Kentucky played like you have to when you are a well-known team on the road. You have to come out and take a team apart. They manhandled us a little bit."
You can say amen to that.
Chaminade even lost the battle fo the fans. The Big Blue from Kentucky filled up one side of McCabe Gym and their constant cheering seemed to give the Wildcats a rare homecourt advantage.
"1 think we did have the homecourt advantage." said Suton. "That doesn't happen too many times, especially when you come this far. But it is an example of how much Kentucky people love basketball.
"Dr. James Naismith started the game in Springfield, Mass., but everybody in Kentucky believes he was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky. They feel he just happened to end up in Springfield when he came up with the idea of basketball."
CHAMINADE TIDBITS . . . UK's big win over Chaminade was a far cry from Sutton's last experience in Hawaii last season when his then Arkansas team lost a pair of games in what some people term Sutton's worst losses as coach of the Razorbacks. Sutton wasn't about to allow a repeat this time. "My Arkansas team played horrible here last year in the Rainbow Classic," said Sutton. "We realize Chaminade has a fine tradition. And we knew, because of Kentucky's reputation, it probably was the biggest game on Chaminade's schedule. Or its biggest game ever. There's a lot of distractions here. But there comes a time when a team has to be disciplined for a three-hour period or they are susceptible to being beaten."
... At Chaminade. officials do things the right way, in other words, the simple way. Like dividing the gym into equal sections, just like oT high school days. In front of the gym.
signs clearly pointed Kentucky fans to the left side of the gym and the Chaminade fans to the right side. . . And how about those refreshments? Yep. ole fashioned barbeque sandwiches, not to mention a special Hawaiian chicken sandwich, the traditional hot dog, soft drinks and potato chips. But just like high school, no food allowed in gymnasium . . The gym officially seats 1,700 fans. At least 1,000 of the 1.508 paid admissions must have been Big Blue fans. According to school officials, the televising of the Kentucky-Chaminade game was a rare feat in itself. The game was televised back to Kentucky by WTVQ-TV. Channel 27 with Kenny Rice and former UK assistant Jim Hatfield handling the announcing duties. . . They may not play exactly like the Kentucky version, but Hawaii does have a pair of notable names like Walker and McCray. Chaminade has its Rod McCray while Hawaii has its own Kenny Walker. McCray scored 11 points for Chaminade against UK while Walker tallied 5 for Hawaii against UK.