xt7xks6j1v4v https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7xks6j1v4v/data/mets.xml Wildcat News Company 1986 Volume 10 -- Number 23 athletic publications  English Wildcat News Company Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Cats' Pause UKAW University of Kentucky Men's Basketball (1985-1986) coaches Sutton, Eddie players SEC Men's Basketball Tournament (1986) UK vs. Ole Miss (February 8, 1986) University of Kentucky Football (1986) Gover, Raynard Claiborne, Jerry statistics schedules Cats' Pause Combs, Oscar The Cats' Pause,  "February 15, 1986" text The Cats' Pause,  "February 15, 1986" 1986 2012 true xt7xks6j1v4v section xt7xks6j1v4v Cats Host Miss. State Saturday Night
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'SPOTLIGHTING UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE''
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VOLUME 10 - NUMBER 23
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1986
LEXINGTON, K
Master Blaster
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PUBLICATION NO. USPS 707340 Published By WILDCAT NEWS COMPANY P.O.Box 7297 Lexington. Kentucky 40522 Second Class Postage Paid at Lexington. Kentucky 40511 and additional Mailing offices
Editor and Publisher
OSCAR L. COMBS
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Columnist LARRY VAUGHT Columnist BOB WATKINS
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Columnist STAN TORGERSON Columnist DICKY BEAL Kentucky Basketball Recruiting RICK BOLUS Contributing Columnist
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Kentucky-Basketball Statistics
L J
Date: 02-10-1986
23-GAME STATISTICS
(20-3 Overall;  !1-1 SEC) (12-0 Home; 8-3 Away;   1-0 Neutral)
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY WILDCATS G       CS     Mln     Avg       FG    EGA     Pet      FT    FTA     Pet    Reb   Avg     PF   D   Ast     To    Blk   StI _   Pts Avg
WALKER, KENNY
23       23      784    34.1      160    292    54.8    118    162 72.8
BENNETT, WINSTON
23       23      721    31.3      110    211    52.1      76     96 79.2
DAVENDER, ED
23        23      729    31.7      116    252    46.0      61      80 76.3
BLACKMON, JAMES
23       23     603    26.2       84    181    46.4      28     47 59.6
HARDEN, ROGER
23       23     680    29.6       62    123    50.4      21      23 91.3
HAD[SON, RICHARD
23 -     391    17.0       51      91    56.0     29     43 67.4
LOCK, ROBERT
16.
12      7.0       18      32    56.3      13      29    44.i
JENKINS, CEDKIC
23 -      261     11.3        22      53    4 1.5      18      25 72.0
ZIECI.EK, TODD
12
BYRD, I.EROY
15 -
ANDREWS, PAUL
15
rilOMAS, IRVING
13
Team-
59      4.9        12      22    54.5        6      10 60.0
93      6.2 9      15    60.0      10      13 76.9
106      7.1        10     28 35.7
3      10 30.0
6 100.0
8 62.1
23
WILDCATS 23
Opponents
23
-    4600    200.      657  1310    50.2    391    542 72.1
-    4600    200.   1 555 1198    46.3    260    369 70.5
177 7.7
159 6.9
65 2.8
87 3.8
48 2.1
67 2.9
28 1.8
49 2.1
16 1.3
10      .7
12 .8
36 1.6
766 33.3
657 28.6
56    1     25     31     26 32
76    3     34     44      10 26
58    1      75 52
44
55    1     48      27        1 30
43
31
20
31
157 53
19 29
24
2      16       6 3
13
12
3      14        1 1
410    6    393    291      50 192
480 18    292    389     59 118
438 19.0
296 12.9
293 12.7
196 8.5
145 6.3
131 5.7
49 3.1
62 2.7
30 2.5
28 1.9
26 1.7
11 .8
1705 74.1
1370 59.6
						UNIVERSITY	OF KENTUCKY SCHEDULE							
Date		Record		UOFK	Opp	Opponent Margin		Top Scorer		Top Rebounder			Attendance	
Nov.	22	1-	0	77	58	NORTHWESTERN STATE	19	18	BENNETT WINSTON	7	BENNETT	WINSTON	23, 127	(10
Nov.	26	2-	0	89	57	CHAMINADE	32	22	WALKER, KENNY	5	WALKER,	KENNY	1 ,508	(A)
Nov.	27	3-	0	98	65	HAWAII	33	33	WALKER, KENNY	10	WALKER,	KENNY	6,342	(A)
Dec .	03	4-	0	84	54	CINCINNATI	30	26	WALKER, KENNY	7	BLACKMON, JAMES		23,330	(H)
Dec .	07	5-	0	63	58	INDIANA	5	22	DAVENDER, ED	5	BLACKMON, JAMES		24,203	00
Dec .	14	5-	1	66	83	KANSAS	-17	12	WALKER, KENNY	8	BENNETT	WINSTON	15, 122	(A)
Dec.	20	6-	1	86	52	EAST CAROLINA	34	19	WALKER, KENNY	9	BENNETT	WINSTON	22,416	(H)
Dec.	21	7-	1	88	56	PEPPERDINE	32	21	WALKER, KENNY	10	WALKER,	KENNY	22,840	(10
Dec.	28	8-	1	69	64	LOUISVILLE	5	23	BENNETT WINSTON	14	WALKER,	KENNY	24,180	(H)
Dec.	30	9-	1	93	55	VIRGINIA MILITARY IN	38	18	WALKER, KENNY	10	BENNETT	WINSTON	19,450	(A)
Jan.	04	10-	1	80	71	VANDERBILT	9	25	WALKER, KENNY	14	BENNETT	WINSTON.	15,626	(A)
Jan.	06	10-	2	56	60	AUBURN	-4	22	WALKER, KENNY	6	WALKER,	KENNY	11 ,873	(A)
Jan .	08	11-	2	75	58	MISSISSIPPI	17	31	WALKER, KENNY	6	BENNETT	WINSTON	22,645	(H)
Jan.	11	12-	2	76	52	ALABAMA	24	24	WALKER, KENNY	9	WALKER,	KENNY	23,345	(H)
Jan .	15	1 3-	1	64	52	MISSISSIPPI STATE	12	15	WALKER, KENNY	8	BENNETT	WINSTON	5,226	(A)
Jan.	18	14-	2	72	55	FLORIDA	17	25	WALKER, KENNY	1 1	BENNETT	WINSTON	11,914	(A)
Jan.	23	I 5-	2	74	69	GEORGIA	5	15	DAVENDER, ED	10	WALKER,	KENNY	22,810	00
Jan.	25	16-	2	74	57	TENNESSEE	17	26	BENNETT WINSTON	7	MADISON	RICHARD	23,069	(II)
Jan.	29	17-	2	54	52	LSU	2	17	BENNETT WINSTON	8	WALKER,	KENNY	12,477	(A)
Jan.	31	18-	2	81	71	AUBURN	10	24	WALKER, KENNY	10	BENNETT	WINSTON	23,320	00
Feb.	02	18-	3	51	54	NORTH CAROLINA STATE	-3	16	DAVENDER, ED	8	WALKER,	KENNY	12,400	(A)
Feb.	05	19-	3	73	65	VANDERBILT	8	22	BLACKMON, JAMES	12	WALKER,	KENNY	23,070	(H)
Feb.	08	20-	3	62	58	OLE MISS	4	15	WALKER, KENNY	13	WALKER,	KENNY	7,451	(A)
REMAIN INC		GAMES												
Feb.	13					ALABAMA	(A)							
Feb.	15					MISSISSIPPI STATE	(H)							
Feb.	19					FLORIDA	(H)							
Feb.	22					GEORGIA	(A)							
Feb.	27					TENNESSEE	(A)							
Mar.	01					LOUISIANA STATE	(H)							
 0ayo 3
Alabama Awaits UK, SEC Lead
There may be three full weeks of action left in the Southeastern Conference race, but as far as the Alabama Crimson Tide are concerned, it will be "now or never" come Thursday night in Tuscaloosa when the Tide entertain Kentucky before a nationally televised audience on the USA cable network.
What set the stage tor this showdown was the Tide's stunning 80-71 victory over LSU in Baton Rouge on Sunday. Kentucky leads the SEC with a 11-1 mark while Bama is a shade behind at 10-2. For all practical purposes, all others are battling for third place.
As we mentioned last week, Bama has been the most underrated team in the conference all season long just as Wimp Sanderson's coaching talent has been ignored.
Many had counted the Tide out weeks ago, but Alabama now stands front and center to challenge Kentucky for the top spot. The Tide's opportunity to overtake UK didn't come easy. In fact. Alabama has not lost since its embarrassing 76-52 loss to Kentucky in Lexington back on January 11.
Since then Bama has reeled off eight consecutive victories including three on the road. But the most impressive of all came Sunday against an LSU team which had been on a tear in recent days.
LSU, which appeared completely out of the race a week earlier, demonstrated the never-give-up attitude of its coach Dale Brown by coming within a pair of points of upsetting Georgetown. Two days later, LSU shocked Auburn on the road and followed that up the next night with a victory over Mississippi State on the road.
So with three days rest and preparation for Alabama, one would have to figure that Dale Brown would have had his Tigers foaming at the mouth for the Sunday showdown. A win over Bama would have preserved LSU's record at 7-5 and still a shothowever longat the title.
The Tigers were made a four-point favorite by those people who make their living by predicting the outcome of college games. But Bama still won. That, alone, should tell you something about this Alabama team, not to mention Buck Johnson, Terry Coner. Jim Farmer, Mike Gottfried and Derrick McKey among others.
A win over Alabama is not an absolute must for Kentucky, but it comes about as close as you can get to a "must" game. UK would still be tied for the lead, but would likely face the probability of having to settle for a title co-championship.
After Thursday's showdown, each club will have five games remaining. Alabama will still travel to Auburn, Tennessee and Florida while hosting Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
On the other hand Kentucky still must go to Tennessee and Georgia and then take on Mississippi State, Florida and LSU at home.
The schedule, on the conditions of home and away schedules, appears to favor UK but when you take a closer look the edge goes the other way. Only State looks like a safe bet, about as safe as a bet which says State will upset someone big before the season is over.
Everyone knows of UK's problems in Knox-ville and Georgia is yet to lose a home game this season. In fact Georgia hasn't lost a home game in more than a year.
While Kentucky is at the top of league standings. Alabama will be a slight favorite or so when the game is tipped-off Thursday. What Kentucky has to do is work the same magic which Bama exercised Sunday against LSU, that
is pulling an upset of major proportions before a hostile crowd on the road.
Kentucky's 62-58 win over Ole Miss wasn't a masterpiece by anyone's grade, but it was a win nevertheless. Or as one wise man once said, "it's better to be lucky than good."
The Cats weren't all that lucky, but they were far from being good. And they weren't all that bad. They performed well enough to post a victory in a foreign arena where Tennessee had failed three nights earlier.
With the victory, Kentucky's road record in the SEC stands at 5-1. Combine that with UK's perfect 6-0 home mark and you can understand why the Cats lead the SEC.
The fact that UK heads up the league with a 11-1 mark is certainly understandable. What's mysterious is the fact that UK leads by only one game with six games to go.
Remember when most everyone predicted back in November that a team with five losses would win the league title outright? My, how times change.
Right now 14^4- doesn't even look good. It could take a 15-3 record to win the conference outright.
Alabama definitely is at the top of its game. With Buck Johnson back (who missed action after a thigh bruise), the Crimson Tide is taking no prisoners. And Kentucky isn't about to throw in the towel.
This game could be an interesting first for Kentucky under Eddie Sutton. It may be the first true "big" league battle for the coach in his rookie year at UK.
Following Kentucky's 54-51 loss to North Carolina State in Raleigh, a long-time acquaintance of Sutton's asked me how Sutton reacted to the loss. After being told that Sutton took the loss in stride by mostly praising his team for a hard-nosed effort. Sutton's friend chuckled and added, "that's the way Eddie is. he doesn't like those non-conference games in the middle of the conference race. In fact, he hates them. All Eddie is ever interested in is winning conference games."
Ah!
A conference game.
Most basketball observers believe truly great coaches like to keep an even keil for their teams, using the ole "win one for the gipper" routine very rarely.
It will be interesting to watch the Cats' practice sessions early this week and see how Sutton prepares Kentucky for this crucial game. It could be the most important one of the season.
Some of the good and bad in the SEC this season:
GoodThe effort put forth by Coach Lee Hunt and his Ole Miss Rebels. Hunt is getting more out of his talent than anyone in the league, as much or more than that fellow - what's-his-name - Weltich?he followed to Ole Miss.
BadFlorida's unruly and vulgar fans who apparently take more pride in their profanity than their fine basketball team which would play much better without their immature behavior.
GoodTony White. Simply the best guard in the SEC and one of the top five guards in the country. If he were playing for a basketball school, you'd hear more about him than Indiana's Steve Alford or Georgia Tech's Mark Price.
BadOle Miss' fans who don't shout obsenities because they don't even show up for the games, unless Billy Brewer is entertaining football recruits.
GoodFlorida coach Norm Sloan's smiling face after a particularly bad officiating call. Anything other than a smile could bring on World War III at O'Connell Center.
BadDon DeVoe's decision to stay at Tennessee rather than pursue the opening at his alma mater, Ohio State. Kentucky is 0-7 against DeVoe in Knoxville and the future doesn't look good.
GoodGeorgia's Joe Ward. A young man bold and honest enough to recognize the good from the bad and admit he's human enough to be tempted by the wrong. Not a bad description for a Baptist preacher, which he is.
BadAndrew Moten's dash from the bench to get in a couple sucker punches during the Florida-Georgia brawl in Athens.
GoodAndrew Moten's intelligence to get himself back to the bench as any "Dennis The Menace" would, without being caught by the authorities.
BadKentucky's inability to always provide the Rupp Arena playing floor to the opposing team the day prior to a game which is common courtesy around the country, except at municipal arenas like Rupp where too many events are crowded into the winter schedule.
GoodThe sideline action of coaches like Wimp Sanderson. Sonny Smith, Hugh Durham, and Norm Sloan. Even during dull blow-outs and free throw shooting contests, these fellas still give us a top-notch floor show. Don Rickles could be in trouble if he ever meets Sonny Smith and Rodney Dangerfield better not run into Wimp Sanderson or he might finally get some respect.
BadHaving to sit next to a former basketball referee in a press box and listen to him justify horrendous calls against a visiting team, and a few against the home team, too.
GoodThe great food catered for the media at Alabama's Memorial Coliseum.
Bad-Being on a diet and having to smell the aroma the Bama food without being able to indulge.
GoodWatching Spud Webb win the NBA Slam-Dunk Contest last Saturday over the great Dominque Wilkins.
BadNot being able to see LeRoy Byrd go one-on-one against Spud Webb.
GoodOfficials who know how to add a little humor to the game of basketball.
BadSportscasters (USA) who don't know the difference in a halo, a signal to reset the shot-clock and the sign for kicking the ball out-of-bounds.
GoodThe absence of a carnation in Eddie Sutton's coat lapel which was a regular ritual at Arkansas although some believed it would have fit in perfectly with the funeral-like atmosphere of past UK years. Perhaps Sutton left his flower in Arkansas where Nolan Richardson needs all the love and sympathy he can get because his team is deathly ill.
By the time you read this, many of the prep football seniors will be inked to national letters of intent and Jerry Claiborne's fifth recruiting class will be taking shape.
At presstime. Kentucky's entire coaching staff was on the road, beating the bushes and making those critical last-minute contacts.
While the overall talent is down in Kentucky this season, Claiborne still hopes to control the state like he has the previous four years.
Of most concern right now is Claiborne holding his verbal committments and signing those who have announced they would attend UK.
A vital announcement last week was Donnie Gardner's decision to attend UK. He's the brother of Wildcat Carwell Gardner. Donnie is one of the state's top three seniors along with Al Baker of Trigg County and Coburn Clark of Owensboro. All three have made public committments to UK.
However, the battle for Clark won't be over until he's been signed. He first said he would go to UK. but reports out of Owensboro indicated he was going to announce he was going to Louisville during a press conference a couple weeks ago. The press conference was eventually called off, but no one is betting on who Clark will sign with.
The recruiting of Clark apparently is beginning to heat up a cold war betweeen UK and Louisville.
Clark's situation is rather interesting in light of Louisville's accusations against Georgia a couple years ago which involved the Cedric Henderson case.
Then. UL officials, inlcuding athletics director Bill Olsen, suggested that other schools should back off recruiting a youngster after he made a public committment to a certain school (like Henderson did to UL). Henderson, you recall, later signed with Georgia.
Clark announced for UK several weeks ago, but Louisville kept on recruiting, a fact that UL coach Howard Schnellenberger readily admitted.
One of the interesting ploys applied by UL was sending a limo to Owensboro to pick up Clark and bring him to Louisville for his official visit during the weekend when the hoop Cards played Syracuse.
That certainly has to rank up there with the all-time greats in recruiting ploys. UL can take a bow for this one. I have to wonder though how some people would have treated UK if the Wid-cats decided to undertake such a luxurious scheme.
The bad news for Claiborne came late last week when Parade Magazine All-American Dave Szott announced he would sign a national letter-of-intent this week with Penn State.
There had been dozens of rumors about Szott and his future. His choices kept jumping from Penn State and Kentucky to Kentucky, Rutgers and Penn State to Duke. Rutgers, Penn State and Kentucky to just Kentucky and Duke about ten days ago.
And then, suddenly it was just Penn State. It was a tough one for UK to lose because the Cats were so close, but close counts only in horseshoes.
We'll have a complete update on the signees in next week's issue of TCP.
HITS AND MISSES ... One of the many rumors making the rounds around the Kentucky sports scene has Governor Martha Layne Collins becoming the new president of the University of Kentucky, replacing Dr. Otis
'
[Continued On Page 26]
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^^parked By Reserve's 13 Points
Kentucky Turns Back Ole Miss Rebels In Oxford
The "Phantom of the Wildcats' has risen. . .at least he did against Mississippi.
Richard Madison, who earlier this season was dubbed The Phantom  for inconsistent play  poured in a season-high 13 points to help Kentucky hold back Mississippi last Saturday 62-58 in Oxford.
For Madison it was a performance he and UK needed on a night where the Rebels fought till the bitter end.
In four previous games the Memphis native scored only one point. A chat with Eddie Sutton and Herbert Madison, Richard's uncle, may have put the UK forward/guard in the right frame of mind.
"I had visited with Richard on about what I felt he needed to do, and one of the other staff members did (too)," Sutton said. "His uncle, who lives in Memphis, had a pow-wow with him this afternoon.
"He just played a lot harder and smarter than what he had in our last four games.
Madison hit on 5 of 6 shots from the field (3 of 5 free throws), dished out three assists, and blocked two shots in 20 minutes of action.
Said Kenny Walker of Madison's performance, "Richard was probably the difference. He came in and gave us a good, solid 20 minutes. He made some great plays. We need Richard to play that way all the time."
The win gives Sutton and the Wildcats their 20th 'W' of the season with only three setbacks. More importantly, the victory over Ole Miss raised their SEC record to a league-leading 11I mark. Mississippi falls to 3-10 in the conference, 10-12 overall.
For Lee Hunt's crew the free throw line marked the scene of the crime.
"It all boils down to the same problems we've had for the past two years  free throw shooting." Hunt stressed in his postgame conference. "In a game like tonight, where you're playing a top ballclub like Kentucky, it's so important to give yourself a chance to win the game that you have to convert your free throws."
"We had one player, (Curtis Ritchwood) if he had been hitting them could have put us in a great position maybe to move on and win the ballgame."
Both the Wildcats and Rebels hit only 63.2 percent (12 of 19) from the charity stripe. Ritchwood, however, missed six free throws in the final 20 minutes to subdue any chances the home team had of upsetting Kentucky.
Mississippi was led in scoring by Ritchwood with a game-high 16 points followed Roderic Barnes with 14.
First Half Run Paves Way For Wildcat Victory
With the boost of an 8-0 run midway in the first half, Mississippi grabbed a 22-16 lead on the Wildcats. Though Kentucky, which had previously led 12-8 before the Johnny Rebs made their charge, had a suprise attack of its own. It was also an attack which was rudely greeted by the UM student section.
Roger Harden ignited the rally as his jumper between Ole Miss' two-man front reduced the margin to four (22-18) with 7:16 left to play. UK was now in a two-guard lineup with Madison and Cedric Jenkins having checked in.
h2
Winston Bennett Kenny Walker
James Blackmon
Ed Davender
Roger Harden
Richard Madiso
Cedric Jenkins
TEAM REBOUNDS (mduded in ToM.1 TOTALS
FG %: 1st Hill '5 of 29-51 .72 FT V 1st Half    5 f ^-83.3*
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MISSISSIPPI
Curtis Ritchwood Eric Smlth
Perek Home
Roderick Barnes
Joe Ayers
Joe Coleman
Keith Kcsslnqer Ronnie Sims
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TEAM REBOUNDS flncfcxitd In Tnfafct TOTALS
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[MISSISSIPPI
27
Walker And Sims Clash At Peak Form
It was Madison who pulled the visitors within one. The substitute took UM's Derek Home underneath and laid the ball in as the defender committed his second foul of the night. Madison completed the three-point play by connecting on the free throw.
The sequence of the night was about ready to take place, however.
Following a Madison miss at UK's end of the court, Eric Smith took an outlet pass and appeared headed for a slam. Though the shot was blocked from behind by Madison and Harden then initiated a Wildcat fastbreak. With the Ole Miss' student section in an uproar, the UK guard spotted Walker open underneath for the dunk. In getting the two points Walker was fouled by Ronnie Sims.
The fans were upset that Kentucky got the call (Sim's foul on Walker) and Smith didn't. For more than five minutes the game was stopped because ice and cups, which were now resting on the hardwood, had been tossed by the Mississippi students.
When the mess had cleared the 'Cats controlled the lead 24-22 following Walker's free throw.
Kentucky completed its 13-0 run with: a Bennett put-back of a Walker miss, a Madison free throw, and a downtown jumper (23 feet to be exact) from Walker. The spurt enabled the favorites from Lexington to grab a 29-22 advantage.
Ole Miss stayed within seven at the end of the half by matching its opponent point for point in the final 3:16. Ritchwood's rainbow from the baseline cut the lead to five (33-28), but the senior forward fouled Winston Bennett with only four ticks remaining until halftime. Bennett sank both attempts as UK regained it seven-point margin.
Issue Not Settled Until Final Seconds
The issue wasn't decided until Harden cashed in on two free throws giving the Wildcats a 60-54 lead with only 18 seconds remaining. Prior to that the Ole Miss partisans, highly enthusiastic thoughout the evening, hoped they would leave Tad Smith in celebration of a win. However, they left the coliseum knowing that the Rebels gave it their best shot.
Led by four players with six or more points, UK went in the dressing room with a 35-28 lead. Following a steal turned into a dunk by Walker, Kentucky raced out to its largest lead of the game (39-30) with 18:08 left.
For the night Walker led the UK attack with 15 tallies. He needs only five points against Alabama Thursday night to become the Wildcats' No. 3 all-time scorer. Walker also snared down a game-high 13 rebounds. Ed Davender and Harden contributed heavily to the UK win with 12 points apiece.
With an 18-11 run of their own, the Rebels pulled within two, 50-48. During the spurt UM kept clawing into the 'Cats' lead, but could never catch up.
Roderick Barnes cut the margin to four, when the sophomore guard hit a 14-foot jumper over Harden. The Phantom (Madison) struck for two easy baskets, though, to push the margin to eight with 10:26 remaining.
JC transfer Eric Smith, who scored 13 points and was credited for a team-high 10 rebounds, connected from the top of the key helping Ole Miss get close again, this time 4845. And Derrick Home's three-point play made things even more interesting (50-48).
UK had one more run left in its bag of tricks (6-0). For starters, Ed Davender connected from 21 feet. Madison saved his cliff-hanger baseline jumper for a needed situation
lected B From M iTdrmtrt/ AS, /?cftT
15 feet on the left baseline he confidently guided the ball toward the cylinder. It bounced nd spun like it was coming out. Somehow, though, it trickled in. "1 had a feeling that it was going down," Madison said with a grin when asked if he thought it was in all the way. "I had no doubt."
After Ole Miss failed to convert on the other end it was showtime for the more than 1,500 Wildcat supporters on hand.
Walker spotted a breaking Madison with only one defender to beat. No. 42 took the pass, leaped just past the free throw line, and shook the rim with a fierce dunk. The goal, giving UK a 56-48 lead at the 5:28 mark, brought the Kentucky supporters off their feet. The bucket was also a signal for Hunt and his boys to talk things over.
UM had many opportunites in the final five-plus minutes but could get no closer than four. Both Walker and Bennett each had four fouls with 4:20 remaining, but the Rebels failed to take advantage.
The biggest blunder, however, was when Ritchwood missed the front end of two, one-and-one situations. UK tried its best, as well, to please the hosts. With Kentucky ahead 58-52, Bennett missed the front end of the bonus. And with the Wildcats holding on to a 58-54 score, Davender misfired on the front end with only 31 seconds left.
Smith, however missed and UK iced the game with Harden's two free throws.
Wildcat-Rebel Tidbits
With the 62-58 victory, Kentucky now owns a 68-5 win-loss record against the Rebels. The last time Ole Miss defeated the Wildcats was in 1983 with a 67-65 win at Tad Smith Coliseum. . .UK upped its record in the coliseum to 18-3 against UM. . .Eleven buses from western Kentucky made the trip South to see their 'Cats play. Included in that group were seven buses (47 seats) from Paduach. . .At Kentucky's shooting practice that morning more than 100 Wildcat fans showed up to watch. Sutton responded to the crowd by letting the team sign autographs afterwards. . Junior College transfer Eric Smith lists two sites (Champaign and Urbana. 111.) as his hometown. His reason?  Smith's front yard is in Champaign while his house is in Urbana. With 13 points Smith has now hit for double figures in 20 of 21 games this season. . .Falling to 10-11, Ole Miss is currently only one of two SEC teams with overall records below .500 Mississippi State owns a disappointing 4-17 record.
Harden Hounding Keith Kessinger
. Roger Harden's six assists give him a season total of 157, just 31 short of the UK record. . .It's interesting to note that the University of Kentucky's enrollment is listed at 23,000 while the University of Mississippi's is 10,452. . The Sunday after his team defeated Ole Miss, Eddie Sutton was probably one of the proudest coaches in the nation. Not only had his Wildcats obtained their 20th victory, but two former guards he coached at Arkansas  Sidney Moncrief (playing for the East) and Alvin Robertson (West)  were to be in the starting lineups in the NBAs 36th annual All-Star game at Dallas. Moncrief heads the show for the Milwaukee Bucks while Robertson stars for the San Antonio Spurs. Both players are noted for their outstanding defensive and hustling abilities. Moncrief finished the game with 16 points while Robertson added four. The East defeated the West 139-132.
Following 62-58 Setback
Hunt Calls UK Defense
One Of The Best He's Seen
following are Lee Hunt'spostgame comments after the Wildcats held off the Ole Miss Rebels, 62-58:
Question: Your comments on the game?
Hunt: You can see why Kentucky leads the Southeastern Conference. They are a very good basketball team. They are very patient, and they made our defense work very hard until they got the shot they wanted; many times they hit it. It boils down, in our situation, to a problem that we've had for two years  free throw shooting.
as any team could possibly play it. I've been in the game a long, long time and I've observed a lot of great teams and a lot of pressure defenses, but I really do believe that the Kentucky defense is one of the finest man-to-man defenses teams I've seen in a long, long time. They put tremendous pressure on you. You (also) have to work extremely hard without the ball to get open. They recover so well in their defense. They're just an outstanding club on the defensive end. It's very difficult to get the ball inside. . .they really cover you up down inside.
 playe mthe g
In a game like tonight, where you're playing a top ballclub like Kentucky, it's so important to give yourself a chance to win the game that you have to convert your free throws. You just have to. We shot 63 percent from the line: amd we had a number of free throws in the second half that could have really made a difference in the game. We had one player (Curtis Ritchwood), if he had been hitting them could have put us in a great position maybe to move on and win the ballgame. I was proud of our players. I think they played extremely hard and they gave a great effort. We did about as good a job as you can do on Kenny Walker  he had 15 points for the night. Just to hold him to 15 shots, you know that your defense has worked hard. I was pleased that we outrebounded Kentucky  36-31. That's another indicator that your team put a in great effort  in the rebounding area. We hit a critical point in the second half where we did not score. We had a golden opportunity and did not hit any shots. Kentucky deserves a lot of credit; they are an outstanding man-to-man defensive team. They play the man-to-man defense about as well
Kentucky fronts everything inside and gets good weak-side help. When you try to clear out and create something they're always rotating their defenses.
Question: At one point you outscored UK 8-0. Minutes later Kentucky proceeded to score 13 unanswered points. What happened?
Hunt: I very well remember that. We really were playing well. Kentucky, during one of the timeouts, really extended their defense after that. They were playing what you call 'medium pressure defense' - extending their defense. We had a difficult time running any type of offense during that critical period in the first half. We called a timeout to make an offensive adjustment to get 'better' shots. During that period they forced us out of anything that had been working. So, we had to change. Though we did get back a little bit just before the half, we did have that stretch where we didn't score. Again, credit goes to the Kentucky defense because they really extended and turned their defense on at that point.
Barnes Connected On 7 Of 15 Field GoalsJ 97i (oats' Waa&e>
ACC Has A Monopoly On Destination Dallas
SEC Down To Two-Team Race
Starting the final leg of the 1986 college basketball regular season, let's take timeout to see how the campaign is shaping up for Destination Dallas. . .
Could ACC Have Three No. 1 Seeds In '86 Tourney?
Being good enough to be among the nation's top 10 college basketball elites is something special in itself. Obviously, it takes a special nucleus mixed with the right chemestry. It appears that in 1986 stability is the all important formula which is sprinkled t