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Blackmon Scores Layup
Sky Walker For A Score
Teammate Winston Bennett said, "Roger had told me after we broke the (timeout) huddle (with three seconds left) to get him the ball. When I looked there were two or three guys around Roger."
Instead, Bennett wheeled and hit Blackmon who fired up the shot which almost sent the game into overtime.
KentuckyLSU Tidbits
Redden, who had been ineffective in two of LSU's three earlier meetings because of injuries, came on strong against UK and score 15 points but his six down the stretch were the real important ones and they helped earn him MVP honors. Actually, only two players hurt UK percentage wise. They were guards Anthony Wilson and Ricky Blanton who hit 11 of 14 attempts from the floor . . . Although UK outshot LSU from the floor and outrebounded the Tigers, three more turnovers and poor free throw shooting was the big difference in the contest ... On losing after beating LSU three in a row. Tiger coach Dale Brown commented, "It was a tremendous burden on Kentucky and they handled it tremendously. They didn't choke." . . . UK coach Eddie Sutton said the Wildcats knew how tough it would be playing LSU a fourth time and said, "we added to our misery and weren't as patient as we should have been. We didn't have very good shot selection." . . . Junior Winston Bennett, who did a great job on the boards with 12 rebounds (same as Thursday), had one of his off-nights from the field goal range and hit only three of 13. Said Bennett, "I've got no excuse, just an off night. It was a sad time to have an off night. We knew Louisville had won. Maybe I was pressing too hard." . . . Taylor, who was hounded so closely by Ed Davender all night, didn't hit a single field goal but his last attempt, an airball, may have been the winner because Redden put it back in for a four-point lead . . . Despite the absence of Georgia Tech in the final game, it was still a full house, most because several thousand Kentucky fans drove to Atlanta and gobbled up the tickets offered by Tech fans. For Thursday's game against Alabama, about 2,500 UK fans were in attendance. An estimated 7,500 UK supporters managed to get ducats for the Saturday final and most of them were sitting in what had been Alabama's section ... It was an especially tough night for Roger Harden who enjoyed one of his finest shooting games (six of eight) and hauled down five rebounds to go with his five assist, but the pain of defeat was much worse for the man who predicted all along that Kentucky would be in the Final Four. Said Harden, "I guess everything has its purpose in life and I guess this was not meant to be. But if every night before you go to bed you think about winning a national championship...and the reality now is that it's not going to happen for Roger Harden ever or for UK this year."