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Senior Sendoff
Wildcats Recover From Emotional Farewell Ceremony For Five Seniors, Turn Back Stubborn Bulldogs 70-62 To Clinch Tie For SEC Championship
By TCP Staff Writer Jim Easterwood
It was hard to discern if it was a basketball game Wednesday night at Rupp Arena or the latest episode of a noontime soap opera.
There were more tears shed before the UK-Georgia tipoff than in the last scene of Casablanca. Emotions ran higher than Ferdinand Marcos' Swiss bank account.
The obvious question: Could five young men from all walks of life find happiness in the last home game of their college careers?
Or, would too much emotion leave them drained and unable to accomplish two goals: One. a tie for the Southeastern Conference crown, Kentucky's 37th. Two. keeping a 24-year streak alive of never losing the last home game of the season.
For a while, the 'Cats remained on a nostalgic high from the pregame hoopla surrounding the five seniors.
Rob Lock. Winston Bennett, Richard Madison, Cedric Jenkins and Ed Davender looked around, listened to the lyrics of "My Old Kentucky Home" sung by Happy Chandler, and shed a tear. . .or two.
And then they turned the lights out in Georgia, 80-72. Kentucky elevated its season record to 21-5 and 12-5 in the SEC. With difficulty, however.
It was, in fact, a matter of triumph over emotion.
"I'm sure, myself, I was still thinking what had taken place. . .1 wasn't into the game when the ball was thrown up," said Bennett.
Bennett quickly covered his emotions. He had to. The Bulldogs stuck around all night like a bad dream that wouldn't end.
UK's 6-11 Center 'Locked' It Up With Final Dunk
Ironically, it was the man 'Cat fans had loved to hate who locked it up.
Lock, who couldn't hit the side of Rupp Arena with a free throw last year, sank two with 23 seconds to play. Kentucky led 78-72.
Then, with about 10 seconds remaining, Bennett got the ball in open court. He saw Rob streaking up the floor and threw him the ball.
Slam, bam, thank you fans.
After his dunk, seven seconds remained for Lock to savor how sweet it finally was.
"It was a nice way to end my career here. . .with the thing I like to do most. . .slam," said Lock, his face creased in a big grin.
The ending, he said, made up for an error in judgement a few seconds earlier when Kentucky led 76-69. He let opposing center Alec Kessler get inside for a layup and then fouled him. Kessler converted to cut the lead to 76-72.
"That was a bad play on my part," said Lock. "But I can learn from my mistakes. I won't do it again."
Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton, standing to one side in the post-game media convention, said, smiling, "Good."
All Five Wildcat Seniors Went Out In Style
It was a great night for curtain calls.
Lock finished with 19 points, hitting six of seven shots, three blocked shots and one steal.
And, of course, four turnovers just to keep his "fans" happy.
Bennett, the cool one, bowed out with a fine game for his mom. It was the first time Shirley Bennett, who suffers from severe arthritis, had seen her son play this year.
It was typical Bennett10 points, five rebounds, three assists and only one turnover.
"It meant a lot to me," said Bennett, spaking softly, "to clinch a tie for the SEC with my mom there."
Madison, the "Master Blaster" from Memphis, turned in a workmanlike 18 minutes: six points, three boards, and only one mistake.
Jenkins, playing well of late, had four points and some solid defense in 14 minutes.
And Davender, whose cage exploits were nurtured in Brooklyn and took root in Kentucky, turned in a masterful game.
He had 20 points to go with eight assists. He became the only player in UK basketball history to total 1,500 points and 400 assists.
Davender, taking control of the 'Cats as they entered the home stretch, now has 1,539 points and 405 assists.
Ed bowed out by improvising on a gimmick Red Auerbach used with the Boston Celtics. Red would light his cigar when the Celtics had a game wrapped up.
Ed, however, looked over at media row, smiled and nodded his head with 59 seconds to play and Kentucky ahead. 74-66.
It seemed his way of saying, "That's it, folks."
But Georgia succumbed slowly. Rod Cole cut the margin to 74-69 with a three-point goal 11 seconds later. But Davender sank a pair of free throws to let 'Cat fans breathe easier.
It was Davender who took charge in the final five minutes.
With Kentucky ahead 66-61, Davender scored six of UK's next eight points. He also penetrated and deftly fed Madison for a layup as the 'Cats took a 10-point lead (74-64) with 1:42 left.
Hugh Durham's 'Dogs Refused To Roll Over
But Georgia hung on like a Bulldog on a mailman's pants' leg.
"You've got to give Georgia credit." said Sutton. "They are a good basketball team. They hung in there and fought us all the way to the wire."
The return of Rex Chapman from a back injury helped the 'Cats shake their attack of "senioritis."
Chapman had 15 points, including three buckets from three-point range. He also had three assists and, more importantly, five steals.
"Kentucky's defense was the key." said Georgia coach Hugh Durham. "Chapman got 15 but hurt us just as much or more on defense.
"He's a very heady player who anticipates and reads offense well. He hurt us at critical times with a couple of steals." Sutton thought his star sophomore played well.
Chapman Played Well After 1-Game Layoff
"He looked a little sluggish but he made some big plays. . .and some big shots for us," said Sutton.
One of the biggest was a three-pointer with seven seconds to go in the first half. It gave the 'Cats a 39-33 halftime lead after a seesaw affair. The teams had exchanged the lead 12 times with seven ties.
"(Kentucky football coach Jerry) Claiborne ought to think about getting the guy who set the block over there for Chapman," said Durham.'Tf (Mark) Higgs had the guy blocking for him he might have made more yards than he did."
Chapman also had a big hand in a Kentucky spurt that gave the 'Cats the lead for good about midway of the second half.
With the score tied 50-50, Eric Manuel hit a short jumper. Chapman a three-pointer and Manuel a free throw to make it 56-50.
Georgia's Neville Austin then threw a lazy pass to Willie Anderson and Chapman stole the ball and went in for a slam to make it 58-50, Kentucky, with 10:04 to play.
"We made some good defensive plays and turned them into baskets," said Sutton of this eight-point spurt. "I thought that was important. It usually is."
Sutton acknowledged that the pregame festivities might have taken something out of the 'Cats.
Each senior broke through his own hoop and was then surrounded by family members for the traditional song by the 89-year-old former governor.
"It looked like the activities had taken something out of them emotionally," said Sutton. "They looked drained. . . tired. I know how much these guys love their families. They had to make sure Mom and Dad and relatives were there and everything was taken care of. And they did a lot of worrying."
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