Wiltjer, Kentucky fight off Vanderbilt

Friday, January 11, 2013

— To the Kentucky Wildcats, there’s no doubt that Nerlens Noel’s jumper left his hand before the shot clock buzzer sounded, and they couldn’t be happier.

Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings disagrees.

That bucket allowed Kentucky to escape with a 60-58 victory over Vanderbilt on Thursday night in the SEC opener for both teams after blowing a 16-point lead.

“We’re lucky to win the game,” Kentucky Coach John Calipari said.

Kyle Wiltjer’s jumper with 1:57 left put Kentucky ahead to stay, but the Wildcats (10-4) also seemed to get a bit of help from officials by counting Noel’s jumper with 17.3 seconds left that went in after the shot clock buzzer went off. Stallings took a timeout to plead his case, even patting his head as he talked to officials to signal shot clock violation.

But officials didn’t review the play.

“They said it was not reviewable,” Stallings said. “That’s what they told me. It’s not reviewable. The officials got together and said it’s not reviewable.”

Kedren Johnson said he was right there and felt the ball still was in Noel’s hands when the buzzer went off. Johnson made a three with 7.6 seconds left to pull Vandy within 60-58, and Kyle Fuller stole the inbound pass with 6.7 seconds to go giving the Commodores a last chance. Johnson’s three hit the back rim just before the buzzer as the rally fell short for Vanderbilt (6-7).

Ryan Harrow led Kentucky with 16 points, Noel had 13 and Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) 12.

TOP 25 MEN OREGON 70, NO. 4 ARIZONA 66

EUGENE, Ore. - E.J. Singler scored 14 points and Oregon overcame a slow start to beat No. 4 Arizona, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Dominic Artis, Carlos Emory and Tony Woods had 10 points apiece for the Ducks (13-2, 2-0 Pacific-12).

Mark Lyons scored 21 and Solomon Hill added 16 points to lead the Wildcats (14-1, 2-1).

NO. 22 MICHIGAN STATE 62, IOWA 59

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Branden Dawson scored a career-high 17 points, including a late steal and tie breaking dunk that helped No. 22 Michigan State beat Iowa.

Gary Harris had 14 points for the Spartans (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten), who hung on late for their eighth victory in nine games.

Dawson ripped the ball away from Iowa freshman Mike Gesell and gave Michigan State a 58-56 lead with 49 seconds left.

Anthony Clemmons missed a free throw that would have tied it with 12 seconds to go and air balled a three-pointer at the buzzer as Iowa (11-5, 0-3) lost its third consecutive.

SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 6 KENTUCKY 65, NO. 20 TEXAS A&M 62

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A’dia Mathies scored 23 points and No. 6 Kentucky overcame a sluggish first half to rally past No. 20 Texas A&M.

Jennifer O’Neill added 15 points as the Wildcats (15-1, 3-0 SEC) extended school-record winning streaks of 14 games overall and 31 in a row at home.

Kelsey Bone’s 27 points led Texas A&M (12-5, 2-1).

NO. 9 TENNESSEE 84, MISSOURI 39

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Meighan Simmons scored 18 points and Tennessee relied on suffocating defense to trounce Missouri for its fifth consecutive victory.

Bashaara Graves added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Volunteers (12-3, 3-0 SEC). Morgan Eye scored 18 points and shot 6 of 17 from three-point range for Missouri (12-5, 1-2).

NO. 13 GEORGIA 95, ALABAMA 83

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Jasmine Hassell scored 21 points and Tiaria Griffin added 20 as Georgia cruised to a victory over Alabama in SEC play.

Jasmine James added 15 points for the Lady Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1). Daisha Simmons had 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Crimson Tide (10-6, 0-3).

NO. 18 SOUTH CAROLINA 64, VANDERBILT 48

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Aleighsa Welch scored 13 points, Ieasia Walker added 12 and South Carolina played its usual fierce defense to beat Vanderbilt.

The Gamecocks (14-2, 2-1 SEC), who came in ranked third nationally in scoring defense at 47.4 points per game, held an opponent below 50 for the 12th time in 16 games.

Vanderbilt (12-4, 2-1), which had won nine consecutive, was averaging 71.9 points but shot just 26.5 percent (13 of 49).

Sports, Pages 22 on 01/11/2013