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LSU Wins 59-57 In Southeast Regional
Cats' Magic Falls Short In Atlanta
For the Kentucky Wildcats, it was a disappointing end to a great season Saturday when the LSU Tigers withstood a furious last minute effort by the Wildcats at The Omni and sent Kentucky home, one game shy of Destination Dallas and the Final Four.
When all the dust cleared, LSU had claimed a 59-57 victory, the Tigers' first victory of the season over UK following three consecutive earlier losses.
But the victory didn't come easy for the Tigers.
A couple time-outs (one to ice Tiger John Williams at the free throw line) and a last-ditch hail Mary from James Blackmon also gave the Wildcats another life in overtime.
That opportunity was set up by senior Roger Harden who scored on a driving lay-up with just five seconds left to cut the LSU lead to 59-57 and UK immediately called a timeout.
On the inbounds play. Williams was immediately fouled and UK coach Eddie Sutton called his final timeout to set up the strategy for one last shot, should Williams miss. He did and junior Winston Bennett rebounded, wheeled and fired a half-court pass to James Blackmon who fired at the buzzer. The ball struck the lip of the rim. but fell off harmlessly.
And while Kentucky went home to recount its memories of a great 32-4 season, LSU advanced to the NCAA Final Four against Louisville in Dallas.
Another UK Comeback Wasn't In The Books
Unlike previous Kentucky comebacks this season, it was LSU which came from four down in the final eight minutes to post the victory. Still, UK appeared to be on the verge of pulling another one out of the hat when Bennett rebounded the missed LSU free throw.
LSU wasn't bothered by the Kentucky magic, not this time.
"You could tell they were wondering if they could beat us four times in a row," said LSU's Derrick Taylor. "Usually Kentucky comes down and says, 'Here we are. We're going to do it to you again.' But today they came down and were hesitant."
True enough, but Taylor was anything but a confident soul himself. He scored only four points but shot an astounding zero percent from the field, nothing for nine.
In fact, it was that type of game. Neither team played particularly well. The shooting percentages were below fifty percent and Kentucky may have lost the contest at the free throw line where the Cats hit a miserable 56.3 percent.
Kentucky raced out of the gate early in the contest, claiming an 11-4 advantage during the first four minutes, thanks to nine points from Ail-American Kenny Walker, the last coming on a slam dunk after a missed layup. With 16:25 left, it had all the makings of a rout. Far from it.
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James Blackmon Drives
LSU Fought Back From 11-4 Deficit
LSU got back in the contest on a pair of baskets from Anthony Wilson and John Williams and the two clubs battled the rest of the way.
LSU actually led the final eight minutes of the first half as Williams pitched in ten points and tourney MVP Don Redden added 9, but Kentucky staged a comeback of its own down the stretch and took command of a 34-33 halftime score when the Cats finally rediscovered Walker.
Walker went over 12 minutes without scoring, but tallied seven in the final 4:37.
UK got even when Harden canned an 18-footer at 30-30 and Walker tied the score at 32 after Redden had put LSU up by two. Redden hit one of two free throws for a 33-32 score and then Walker gave UK the lead at intermission by tickling the nets at 0:01 with an eight-footer from the baseline on a long pass from Harden.
Kentucky, hitting only six of 11 from the charity line in the first half, appeared to be in good shape because the Cats owned a 22-16 advantage in rebounds. But most of that came in the first six minutes when UK burst on the scene with intensity at its highest level.
In the second half, LSU led most of the first ten minutes, but Kentucky reclaimed the lead at 9:39 and held command until 3:30 when the red-hot Redden hit a turnaround shot for a 53-51 lead. Blackmon tied the game with a long range baseliner (his third straight bomb), but Ricky Blanton bagged a pair of free throw to put LSU back in front.
After a Kentucky miss, Redden scored on a follow-up when Taylor shot an air ball and LSU suddenly enjoyed a four-point lead (57-53).
Walker Free Throws Narrowed Lead To Two
Walker hit a pair of free throws to cut the score to 57-53 with 1:19 left but Blanton scored on a backdoor play at 0:15 as Kentucky was desperately trying to prevent LSU from running out the clock. That set up Harden's scoring drive and then the final five seconds.
Harden, who had played hero in two of three earlier games with LSU, was hoping to get the ball again for the final shot, but it was obvious that LSU was paying extra special attention to the blond bomber.
-J