No. 16 Michigan State wins 13th in a row
December 31, 2011
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)—Michigan State coach Tom Izzo isn’t prepared to call histeam great immediately after its 13th straight win.
But he said the 16th-ranked Spartans showed they may well be moving in thatdirection after beating Nebraska 68-55 on Saturday in a game that seemed closerthan the score.
The Spartans toughed this one out after being confounded for extended stretchesby the Cornhuskers’ defense and squandering most of a 15-point lead in thesecond half.
Draymond Green scored 19 points and Keith Appling had eight of his 14 in thelast 7 minutes for Michigan State.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo &hellip AP – Dec 31, five:59 pm EST MISt-Neb Gallery
“We dealt with adversity three or four occasions, withstood it and I thought wedid execute once they cut that 15-point lead down and Appling created some plays,”Izzo stated. “Sad to say, we didn’t play genuine well. I think they had some thing todo with it. I was not disappointed in our effort. I was disappointed in ourexecution at occasions.”
The Spartans (13-2, two- Large Ten) are on their longest winning streak sincethe 1998-99 team won 22 straight. Eleven of the 13 have been by double digits.
Michigan State finished on a 15-five run following Nebraska (8-5, -two) pulledwithin 53-50.
The Spartans won the game at the free throw line, generating 19 of 21. Green hitall nine of his free of charge throws.
“It’s our initial Massive Ten road game,” Green said. “Guys didn’t know what toexpect. That’s my job, to choose games up, to aid choose those guys up.”
Bo Spencer scored 15 points and Toney McCray added 14 for the Huskers, whoshot 36 percent from the field and were outrebounded 38-24.
The Huskers created just one field aim over the last 6:48, and none afterAustin Thornton made a three-pointer to give the Spartans a 62-55 lead with three:16left.
“I couldn’t be prouder of my team,” Nebraska coach Doc Sadler stated. “Ithought they competed. I believed we played as tough as you can play, and Ithought we did it for 40 minutes.”
Michigan State has won its initial two Massive Ten games for the fifth straightseason. Nebraska is in the middle of a stretch of eight games in which sixopponents are ranked in the Top 25.
The Spartans proved too potent inside against a Nebraska team that waswithout 6-foot-11 center Jorge Brian Diaz (sore feet) for a fourth straightgame. The Huskers also were missing their fourth-top scorer, guard DylanTalley (thigh bruise).
The Huskers nevertheless turned in a game effort.
The slow-beginning Spartans missed 8 of their 1st 9 shots, never led in thefirst half and had been down 30-29 at the break. But six 1/2 minutes into the secondhalf they were up by 15 points and looked ready to run away with the game.
“We tried to open the wing due to the fact they had been trapping us so substantially,” Izzosaid. “We freed Keith up and he had a couple of those drives.”
Nebraska didn’t fold. Michigan State went four 1/2 minutes without a field objective,Spencer’s 3-pointer finished a 16-4 run that pulled the Huskers to 53-50 withunder 9 minutes to play.
Appling scored six straight points to build the Spartans’ lead to 59-50, butNebraska came back once more. McCray hit a 3-pointer and Spencer made two freethrows to make it 59-55 with 4:01 left.
Nebraska’s offense stalled after Thornton’s three-pointer gave the Spartans aseven-point lead. Caleb Walker missed a 3 from the corner, Brandon Richardsoncommitted a turnover and Green blocked Walker’s 3-point attempt.
The Spartans didn’t take their first lead until their opening possession ofthe second half, when Appling drove the lane to start off a 18-4 run.
The Huskers opened the game much the way they did on Tuesday against No. 11Wisconsin, when they carried the play before acquiring worn down and losing 64-40.
“I wasn’t for certain that our team competed for 40 minutes againstWisconsin,” Sadler stated. “I thought we got down and frustrated. Tonight for 40minutes our guys played as tough as they can play.”
Spencer’s consecutive 3-pointers gave the Huskers a 12-4 lead 5 minutes in,and Michigan State missed eight of its initial nine shots on its way to 39-percentfirst-half shooting.
“You’ve got a hell of a coach, due to the fact the guy did a lot superior job than Idid today,” Izzo stated. “His team played as difficult as anybody we’ve played. Givecredit to Doc on that. Early they had been swarming, they had been moving.”
Michigan State kept it close the initially half largely mainly because of its 22-10rebounding advantage, including a 9-1 benefit on the offensive end.
Appling said the winning streak is the furthest factor from his mind. Afterall, the Spartans are on the road once more on Tuesday at No. 11 Wisconsin, which iscoming off a loss at residence to Iowa.
“We’ve just got to preserve on playing,” Appling said. “That (win streak)really doesn’t mean anything. We’ve just got to keep going.”
Georgetown wins ugly for 10th straight
December 31, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP)—No 12 Georgetown blew a 14-point lead against a schoolthat hasn’t won a Major East road game in practically two years. The Hoyas couldn’tmake a jump shot, couldn’t make a layup. All the momentum lay with Providencedown the stretch.
Henry Sims was as frustrated as any individual. He was 1 for 11 from the field whenhe grabbed an offensive rebound, put the ball up and lastly watched one fallthrough the net.
The play capped a 6- run, a timely response after the Friars had tied thegame. The Hoyas held on for a 49-40 victory Saturday, winning their 10thstraight despite shooting a season-low 30.five percent from the field. It’s theworst Georgetown has shot in a win in eight seasons under coach John ThompsonIII.
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“When that putback went in—big sigh of relief,” Sims said. “Games likethis, I’ve got to do little points. Discover my teammates when my shots are notfalling, be beneficial on the defensive end.”
Sims’ line reflected a Hoyas’ mixed bag of numbers: 2 for 13 from the fieldbut 7 for 9 from the no cost throw line, 4 turnovers but also 4 blocks, 11points and seven rebounds as nicely as 3 of Georgetown’s seven assists, astunningly low tally for the ball-movement offense preached by coach JohnThompson III.
“This was just an ugly game,” Thompson stated. “We went for a long periodwhen we weren’t scoring, so you just have to figure out how to get stops, youhave to figure out how to get rebounds.”
Jason Clark had 16 points and eight rebounds for the taller, stronger Hoyas(12-1, two-), who had a 15- run early in the game and then held on regardless of theiroffensive struggles. Freshman Otto Porter grabbed 12 rebounds, such as a keyputback of his own that created the score 43-40 with 4:04 remaining.
“Otto made the plays that you have to make to win games,” Thompson stated.“And it was glaring these days.”
The score was tied at 35 with 8 minutes to play before Georgetown closedwith a 14-five run. The Hoyas have their longest winning streak since the 2006-07Final 4 team won 11 straight. They are poised to move into the top rated 10 nextweek right after their 71-68 victory at No. 4 Louisville on Wednesday.
LaDontae Henton had 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead Providence (11-four,-2), which shot 25.5 percent from the field, the worst the school has ever shotin a Huge East game. The Friars have lost 17 straight conference road games and23 straight road games to ranked teams.
Providence very first-year coach Ed Cooley stated his players had been “pathetic todayin each and every way” right after a 24-point loss to St. John’s on Tuesday. He was pleased tosee a more competitive effort against the Hoyas.
“This was the very first time, I think, as the head coach right here at Providence wehad a total 40 minutes of effort,” Cooley said.
The Friars scored only 4 points in the initial 11 minutes and managed onlysix field goals while committing eight turnovers in the initially half. The scorewas as close as it was simply because Georgetown wasn’t shooting nicely, either.
A modest 9-three run by the Friars cut the Hoyas’ lead to 27-19 at halftime.Then Providence became far more aggressive in the second half, attacking the basketand tying the game on a pair of free of charge throws by Henton.
Clark’s putback put the Hoyas back ahead for superior, ending Georgetown’s six 1-2minute scoring drought. Sims then made two totally free throws and followed with theputback that produced his “big sigh of relief.”
“I thought we had momentum,” Cooley said. “A lot of it played into ourhands. It’s just when you’re limited on depth and you’re restricted in certainareas, you’re going to come up short in some games. It was proper there, and whatI told my team in the locker space is we’ve got to find out how to win.”
Providence’s Kadeem Batts, a sophomore, produced his 1st commence considering that returningfrom an academic suspension, giving the Friars 1 starter taller than six-foot-6.He had 4 points and six rebounds just before fouling out with 1:04 to play.
———
Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
Padres acquire OF Quentin from White Sox
December 31, 2011
SAN DIEGO (AP)—Being traded from the Chicago White Sox to his hometown SanDiego Padres couldn’t have been any additional convenient for All-Star outfielderCarlos Quentin.
“I get a call and they stated I’ve been traded to San Diego. I’m alreadyhere,” Quentin said on a conference call shortly following the trade was announcedSaturday.
4 years after trading Quentin from Arizona to the White Sox, new Padresgeneral manager Josh Byrnes is bringing him property.
Byrnes produced his second bold move in two weeks when he acquired Quentin fortwo prospects.
“Trading him is fairly high on my list of regrets,” Byrnes said. “Thatgroup in Arizona had a lot of talent. Carlos often stood out for his intensityand his style of play. Getting a opportunity to get him back became quite appealinghere this offseason.”
The trade is expected to bolster San Diego’s offense, which was dreadful asthe Padres finished last in the NL West at 71-91, 23 games behind theDiamondbacks. Quentin has four consecutive 20-homer seasons, including 36 in2008.
“Improving our offense is a priority this offseason and the acquisition ofCarlos provides us a verified middle-of-the-order bat,” Byrnes said. “Wespecifically targeted Carlos due to the fact of his production and his difficult-nosed styleof play.”
Although Quentin started the last two seasons in correct field for the White Sox,he’s penciled into left field with the Padres.
The White Sox received minor league pitchers Simon Castro, a correct-hander,and Pedro Hernandez, a left-hander.
“San Diego came back and certainly put a thing on the table thatattracted us,” White Sox GM Ken Williams stated. “Both of these guys are guysthat we can ultimately see, and we can see them incredibly swiftly here.”
Castro went 7-8 with a 5.63 ERA in 22 starts in between Double-A San Antonioand Triple-A Tucson last season.
“He will be the initially to admit that last year he did not distinguishhimself amongst some of his peers that were also deemed top prospects at thetime,” Williams said. “We’ve got to get him back there. Just 1 year ago youwouldn’t have been able to get this variety of guy.”
Williams stated Dayan Viciedo goes into spring coaching as Chicago’s startingright fielder.
On Dec. 17, Byrnes dealt appropriate-hander Mat Latos to the Cincinnati Reds forfour players, which includes starter Edinson Volquez and Yonder Alonso, the leadingcontender to start off at first base.
The two moves reverse a recent Padres trend of dealing massive leaguers forprospects and shedding salary. Byrnes said the Padres were in a position to make thesedeals mainly because his predecessor, Jed Hoyer, did a superior job of acquiring prospectsover the earlier two years prior to he left to develop into GM of the Chicago Cubs.
“Talking to (CEO) Jeff Moorad, if we had ways to stretch our payroll, getthe correct guys to be competitive in 2012, possibly be a surprise team in 2012, andwith that foundation that gives us a chance at real sustained achievement for anumber of years, that’s the ideal,” Byrnes stated.
Although GM of the Diamondbacks, Byrnes traded Quentin to the White Sox forminor league very first baseman Chris Carter in December 2007. The Diamondbacks hadtaken Quentin in the initially round of the 2003 amateur draft soon after he helpedStanford reach the College Globe Series 3 straight times.
Byrnes stated the Diamondbacks had a surplus of outfielders in 2007 and movingQuentin helped develop a trade package for Dan Haren, who was obtained fromOakland 11 days after Quentin was traded to Chicago. Carter was 1 of sixplayers Arizona sent to Oakland in the Haren deal.
“My actual regret is really how a lot over time we missed his intensity,”said Byrnes, who oversaw an NL West title in 2007 with Arizona, but was fired inJuly 2010. “A group that had good results and now failure and now success, couldhave utilized his personality around a little bit.”
A shoulder injury restricted Quentin to just one game in the final month of2011, but Byrnes said the outfielder is healthy.
The 29-year-old Quentin hit .254 with 24 home runs, a career-high 31 doublesand 77 RBIs in 118 games in 2011, when he created his second All-Star team.
In 2008, he created his first All-Star team, won the Silver Slugger award andfinished in the best 5 of AL Most Beneficial Player voting.
Quentin has heard the talk about how spacious Petco Park eats up fly balls,but isn’t worried.
“I was right here when the park was initially built and I’m familiar with it. Iplayed in it. I’m fortunate to have the size physically and be in a position to besuccessful personally. I’ve constantly had the strategy of hitting initially and stayingwithin myself. I’ve discovered that to be most perfect to produce power. I’m notplanning on changing that at all. I’ll grow to be familiar with the ballpark.”
Byrnes thinks Quentin will be OK.
“He’s got big power, so he has hit a excellent number of homers to right,correct-center,” the GM said. “It’s a tall order for any player in Petco, butfrom center to the left-field foul pole, they’re gone in any park. … Since weplay half our games on the road, he’ll be a genuine threat. When we had been down twoor three runs, we didn’t have sufficient of a threat in the lineup. We feel Carloswill bring that.”
The Padres hit the fewest homers in the majors (91) had the lowest battingaverage in the NL (.237) the second-highest strikeout total in the majors(1,320) and scored only 593 runs, second-lowest in the NL last season.
Quentin attended grade school in suburban Chula Vista and was a three-sportstandout at University of San Diego High. He was chosen San Diego’s Male Athleteof the Year in 2000.
He was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award through his last collegeseason, 2003.
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No. 10 Florida bounces back with rout
December 31, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)—Florida coach Billy Donovan was worried. His10th-ranked Gators had arrived back on campus 36 hours earlier after playing itspoorest game of the season.
He was concerned about his team getting tired and dispirited soon after getting upsetin double-overtime Thursday night at Rutgers..
Not to be concerned.
With Kenny Boynton scoring 26 points the Gators raced to a 90-70 victoryover Yale on Saturday with so signs of fatigue or the holiday blues.
Florida's Mike Rosario (three)&hellip AP – Dec 31, five:01 pm EST Yale coach James Jones, proper,&hellip AP – Dec 31, 5:01 pm EST
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“For them to come back and do what they did, I was seriously proud of them,”Donovan stated.
“I believed it was 1 of the ideal games we’ve played this year,” Donovansaid. “Coming out of the Rutgers game and as negative as we had been … and on aone-day prep, I was seriously proud of them. “
Patric Young added 19 points, Erik Murphy had 18 and freshman Brad Bealscored 11for Florida (11-three), which hosts UAB on Jan. three before opening itsSoutheastern Conference schedule Jan. 7, at Tennessee.
Boynton, who came into the game averaging 18.9 points, had a large very first halfmaking 6 of 7 shots, such as 3 of four from three-point range.
“He’s efficient, he’s shooting a very good percentage,” Donovan stated. “To methat’s the sign of a great scorer. There’s a lot of guys who can score if theyget a lot of shots.”
Greg Mangano led Yale (8-4) with 26 points and Austin Morgan added ten.Mangano’s game-high 15 rebounds helped the Bulldogs to a 37-32 reboundadvantage.
“We had been great these days, but we had to be great to win,” Yale coach JamesJones stated. “We were not good.”
Boynton, who matched his season-high in scoring, had 18 points by halftimeas the Gators took a 46-35 lead. Florida held its largest lead at 83-57 with4:04 left.
Florida took the lead for keeps at 13-12 on a basket by Murphy immediately after Yalestarted the game by generating 3 straight 3-point shots to grab a 9- lead inthe opening 2 minutes.
“We’re figuring it out,” Donovan stated. “They (players) are all gettingbetter.”
Yale hit 9 of 14 from three-point range in the opening half to keep the scorerespectable with the 6-foot-10 Mangano best on 3 tries from longdistance. Mangano had 11 points and seven rebounds in the initial half.
Each teams shot nicely from three-point range. Yale connected on 11 of 21 withMangano hitting 5 of 7, even though Florida was 12 of 21 with Boynton and Murphy eachgood on five of 7.
Florida shot 53.four percent overall to Yale’s 42.9 percent.
Yale was also coming off a difficult road loss Thursday night. Yale rallied froma 19-point deficit prior to getting a six-game winning streak snapped at WakeForest.
“What’s superior about these games is it gives us a gauge in terms of what weneed to do to get superior,” Jones stated about Yale’s two-game southern swing.“Now we get to go back and take care of some of the approaches we were exposed.”
The Gators blew a seven-point lead in the final 3 minutes of regulation anda three-point lead with less than 20 seconds to go in the initial overtime beforelosing at Rutgers. All 3 of Florida’s losses this season have come on theroad, the other individuals against Syracuse and Ohio State, the nation’s Nos. 1 and 2teams. The Gators are 8- at residence and 3- at neutral web sites.
Hornets GM Demps moves past Paul trade
December 31, 2011
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP)—With the Chris Paul trade finally behind him, NewOrleans Hornets common manager Dell Demps is back to his standard routine oftraveling the country nonstop focusing on his present roster and the franchise’sfuture.
Demps attended the Hornets’ 93-78 property loss to Phoenix on Friday night, thenleft property at four:30 a.m. Saturday for the Bay Area. He arrived in time to havebreakfast with his parents then attend the UCLA-California afternoon game to dosome scouting. He planned a late lunch with sister, Darrell, before meeting upwith the Hornets in Sacramento ahead of their Sunday game against the Kings.Then, it was off to Utah for New Orleans’ game against the Jazz.
In a week’s span, Demps will have hit five states. The Hornets opened inArizona against the Suns on Dec. 26, and Demps traveled to Seattle on Thursdayto see Oregon State at Washington. He took a redeye flight back to Louisiana forFriday’s game ahead of heading out of town once again.
Demps reiterated his assistance for Commissioner David Stern, saying Saturdaythere “was never ever a deal in location” to send Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.
New Orleans traded Paul to the Clippers on Dec. 14 for guard Eric Gordon,forward Al-Farouq Aminu, center Chris Kaman and a very first-round draft choice.Stern approved the swap, which was required mainly because the Hornets are owned by theleague.
Stern had taken heat for his role in nixing the initial proposed trade of Paulto the Lakers, facing claims of prospective conflicts of interest to hampering theteam’s pursuit of no cost agents. Stern said he was attempting to do what was finest forNew Orleans.
Demps stated there wasn’t an agreement with the Lakers on cash, which “was ahuge component of the trade.”
“Things got overblown,” Demps said at Haas Pavilion. “The initially trade forChris Paul, it was by no means completed. The commissioner’s workplace is gettingunfairly portrayed. It escalated simply because the owner was David Stern and theplayer was Chris Paul. It was by no means submitted to the NBA. It was moving alongbut it was in no way finalized. There was under no circumstances a deal in spot.”
Now Demps is back to the kind of whirlwind schedule he prefers following thefrenzy of the last month dealing with the Paul trade and the rush to puttogether a roster that featured only five players below contract when thelockout ended.
“That’s portion of it. That’s component of the calmness,” Demps stated of his hectictravel schedule. “This is normal. For me it’s fun. I’m getting a blast andgetting to do some thing I really like. I get to watch basketball and I really feel I’mlucky.”
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Iowa wins at No. 11 Wisconsin 72-65
December 31, 2011
MADISON, Wis. (AP)—The Iowa Hawkeyes began celebrating a couple of hoursbefore everyone else on Saturday.
Freshman Aaron White scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half andfellow reserve Bryce Cartwright added 17 as the Hawkeyes stunned No. 11Wisconsin 72-65.
“Any time you win on the road in this league, there’s a celebration,there’s an incredible sense of accomplishment,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery saidafter his team beat the Badgers for just the third time in the past 15 meetings.“(But) this is the 11th-ranked team in the country, on the road, with afabulous winning percentage here. I think our players know and realize whatthey had to overcome to make this occur.”
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Sophomore Melsahn Basabe added 14 points as the Hawkeyes (9-six, 1-1 Huge Ten)snapped Wisconsin’s 23-game household winning streak against unranked opponents—thelast unranked team to beat the Badgers at the Kohl Center was Illinois, a 63-56winner on Feb. 9, 2010.
“We just came in with a definite mindset nowadays to defy all the odds,” saidCartwright, a senior who came in averaging 5.9 points and has been coming offthe bench as he returns from a hamstring injury.
Cartwright scored 10 points in the second half, the last two a layup with1:55 remaining that put Iowa ahead 68-60 and sent a lot of in the crowd of 17,230 tothe exits.
Wisconsin (12-3, 1-1), though, made 1 last surge.
Senior Jordan Taylor hit a 3-pointer and sophomore Ben Brust had a steal andlayup that pulled the Badgers inside 68-65 with 47 seconds to go.
The Hawkeyes worked the shot clock on their next possession and sophomoreRoy Devyn Marble hit a jumper from the appropriate of the lane with 21 secondsremaining, and Jared Berggren missed a three on the other end to seal Iowa’ssurprising victory.
“All we required to do was get a cease,” said Taylor, who had 17 points tolead four players in double figures for Wisconsin. “We had them exactly where we wanted… and Marble created a tough runner-floater right there off the proper side. Thatwas a difficult shot, and he created it.”
The Badgers, meanwhile, didn’t make nearly sufficient shots. They had theirsecond-worst shooting game of the season (34.8 percent) and were a dismal 3 for28 on 3-pointers on the same day their best-ranked defense allowed a season-highfor points. Wisconsin hadn’t allowed additional than 61 points in its 1st 14 gamesand came in giving up an average of 44.4 points.
“If you hit shots, it’s incredible how much greater your defense looks,”Badgers coach Bo Ryan stated after his team had its six-game winning streaksnapped.
Iowa raced out to a 10-two lead and led throughout the very first half beforeWisconsin utilized a 9- run spanning halftime to take a seven-point lead. Whiteended the Hawkeyes’ barren stretch with a 3-pointer and went on to score 11 ofIowa’s 1st 15 points of the second half. His output was double that of hisseason average and he scored his 18 points in just 20 minutes.
“He was a small bit sideways in the initially half, I believed,” McCafferysaid of White. “He came in and he got tired rapid and he got a foul and hedidn’t get a rebound when he need to have. He put his head down, and that’s whatfreshmen do. So we just said, `Play by means of it, be ready, and you’ll get yourshot in the second half.’ He’s just a truly very good basketball player.”
No. 3 Kentucky bests No. 4 Louisville
December 31, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)—Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hesitantly accepted aleadership role at first as the youngest member on No. 3 Kentucky’sprospect-laden roster. Comfortable with his status, there’s no telling just howfar he can carry the Wildcats.
“I’m very shy, but I’m getting better,” the 18-year-old forward said. “Ijust relax on the basketball court.”
Kidd-Gilchrist had season-highs with 24 points and 19 rebounds to leadKentucky in a rough-and-tumble 69-62 victory over No. 4 Louisville on Saturdayto extend the nation’s longest home winning streak.
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Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is assuming a leadership role with the Wildcats.(Getty Images)
“This is what I live for right here. Why? Because I’ve always been thatway,” Kidd-Gilchrist said of the physical play that at times turned it intomore like a free throw shooting contest with 52 fouls called. “I’m built forthis.”
And Kentucky (13-1) seems built for a long NCAA tournament run after fellowfreshman Anthony Davis added 18 points, all in the second half, as well as 10rebounds and six blocks in the annual in-state rivalry game.
The Cardinals (12-2) only led at 2-0, but gave Kentucky all it could handleafter rallying from an early 15-point deficit before tying it in the second halfthanks to Russ Smith, who had a career-high 30 points.
“I’ve never coached a team that is willing to give the effort that thisteam gives,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “Unfortunately there are nomoral victories. We struggled shooting the basketball tonight.”
Kidd-Gilchrist’s hustle and Davis’ emergence following first-half foulproblems proved to be the difference with rapper Jay-Z, actress Ashley Judd andnearly a dozen NBA scouts watching.
With all the luminaries on hand, no one at Rupp Arena was more important toKidd-Gilchrist than his mother, Cindy Richardson, who attended after beingreleased from the hospital for an unspecified illness last week.
Kidd-Gilchrist said it meant a lot to see her at Rupp Arena after herhospital stay.
“It’s very hard to see my mother there,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “I wascrying my eyes out that night, but she fought through it.”
Kentucky has won 44 straight at home, including 43 in a row at Rupp Arena,for the nation’s longest streak ahead of Duke’s 43. This one will be rememberedafter the teams came in with the highest combined ranking in history.
With the game tied at 40 early in the second half, Louisville had a chanceto take its second lead but Peyton Siva never hit the rim on an 18-foot jumper.
Kentucky went on a 7-0 run from there, with Kidd-Gilchrist hitting one oftwo free throws and making a layup on another trip before Davis got to the lineand made four free throws over two possessions to make it 47-40.
Davis blocked Chris Smith on one end, then cleaned up Kentucky’s fast breakon the other to give the Wildcats a 49-42 lead. His alley-oop slam from DoronLamb made it 56-48 with 6:40 left.
The battles kept going after the whistle with Davis and Rakeem Bucklestangled up on an out-of-bounds play and Davis pleading for a foul.
On another one, Davis went flying into the crowd trying to make a save andlanded on an older woman in the front row. Kidd-Gilchrist came over, screaming,“A.D.! A.D.!” with a smile on his face as he pulled his teammate back towardthe court.
“The crowd was crazy because of the rivalry,” Davis said. “It was fun.”
Kidd-Gilchrist’s three-point play with 3:41 left gave the Wildcats a 61-50lead, its first beyond double digits since the first half, and Kentucky won itsthird straight in the series.
“He wasn’t bothered as much as some of the others by the physical play,”Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “He almost relished it.”
Gorgui Dieng, who entered the second half with one foul, picked up three ina span of 2:20 to head to the bench with 16:08 left, but seconds later, Caliparipicked up a technical foul for his displeasure with the officiating.
Trailing 40-36, Russ Smith hit a 3-pointer and was fouled by Kidd-Gilchrist.He converted it to tie the game with 15:21 left, but Louisville never got overthe hump after also rallying from an 11-point deficit before losing against No.12 Georgetown for its first loss on Wednesday.
“We never feel like we are out of it,” Russ Smith said. “Any basketballplayer would know the game is not over until the 40 minutes is up, so we playhard. If we were down a few points less, it could have gotten interesting.”
Louisville freshman Chane Behanan was the first player to lose his cool inthis emotionally-charged matchup of schools separated by 78 miles. Behanan,recruited by both schools, had already picked up an early foul when he wascalled for a charge and assessed a technical for his reaction with 16:16 left inthe first half.
Louisville opened with a 2-0 lead, but Darius Miller answered with a3-pointer and Kidd-Gilchrist was the only Wildcat to make a field goal over thenext 13:45 as Kentucky feasted at the foul line to build a 31-16 lead.
Trailing by 15 points, Louisville’s two Smiths mounted a 13-0 run to get theCardinals back in the game as Kentucky ended up taking a 36-33 lead at the half.
Louisville would tie it before 5 minutes passed in the second half, butnever could mount a push to take control in one of the most hyped games sincethe 1983-84 season opener when No. 2 Kentucky topped No. 6 Louisville followingthe Cardinals’ 1983 Final Four appearance.
If either of these clubs return to the Final Four this year, this game willbe remembered, too.
“It was crazy out there,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “And I’m (just) afreshman.”
Blue Jays sign LHP Laffey
December 31, 2011
TORONTO (AP)—The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contractwith left-hander Aaron Laffey and invited him to spring education.
Laffey was 3-2 with a three.88 ERA in 47 relief appearances for Seattle and theNew York Yankees last season. He held left-handed batters to a .242 average.
The Blue Jays have also signed on Saturday right-handers Jerry Gil, GarretMock and Robert Coello, and shortstop Brian Bocock to minor league contracts andinvited them to spring education.
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Calhoun-less UConn tops St.. John’s
December 31, 2011
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)—Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun couldn’t attendSaturday’s win more than St. John’s. His players said they could hear him in theirheads yelling at them to finish stronger.
The Huskies let a 23-point second-half lead slip to 11 prior to finallybeating the Red Storm 83-69 in the second game of Calhoun’s 3-game NCAAsuspension for recruiting violations.
Shabazz Napier had 17 points and nine assists to lead the Huskies. FreshmanAndre Drummond added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Jeremy Lamb chipped in with15 points as UConn (12-1, two- Huge East) won its seventh straight game.
“Our difficulty is we look at the score, we see we’re up and we start off playingthe score,” Napier stated. “I told the guys we can’t do that. I don’t like howselfish we are at times. But, we’ll get almost everything together.”
D’Angelo Harrison had 17 points, and fellow freshman Moe Harkless and juniorGod’sgift Achiuwa every single added 16 for St. John’s (7-6, 1-1), which lost for thefirst time in four games.
St. John’s also was with no its head coach as Steve Lavin continues torecover from prostate cancer surgery in October. Lavin, who coached 4 gamesthis season, missed his seventh consecutive game. There is no timetable for hisreturn, thought he continues to attend practice and manage recruiting duties.
But Harkless said he doesn’t want to hear excuses for the loss, even on ateam that begins 4 freshmen.
“I don’t like it when men and women say that we’re young and that’s the reasonwhy,” he said. “Because it doesn’t matter about that, it matters about yourheart. We just didn’t come out hitting shots.”
A steal and dunk by freshman Ryan Boatright gave UConn a 13-4 lead. TheHuskies, who came in averaging six 3-pointers per game, had five in the 1st 14minutes. They finished nine of 16 in the game.
UConn held St. Johns to 25 percent shooting in the 1st half and 36 percentfor the game. St. John’s, which came in hitting just 28 percent of its 3-pointshots, made just 4 of 24 and had been 1 of 13 in falling behind 38-25 athalftime.
The Huskies opened the second half with two dunks by Drummond on alley-ooppasses.
“I would like to see them do it about 15 much more occasions, and I would like tosee Andre get in position to do it 15 more occasions” stated associate head coachGeorge Blaney, who coached in Calhoun’s absence. “He’s so effortless with howhe can rise up and catch it. He doesn’t miss something when his hands are aroundit.”
The Huskies hit their 1st six shots of the second half, such as a3-pointer by Lamb who was fouled and also made the free throw, to give theHuskies a 52-35 lead.
Drummond’s driving floater put UConn up 65-44 midway by means of the second halfand Huskies led by as quite a few as 23 points before St. John’s produced a final run,cutting the UConn lead to 72-61 with two:48 remaining on a dunk by Sir’DominicPointer.
But Napier closed out the game by hurdling more than a fallen Amir Garrett for alayup to make it 79-64 with a minute left.
“As usual, we kind of let them back in as we had been up,” Drummond said.“We’re working on it and we’re going to get it and we’re going to get thatkiller instinct that we’re looking for.”
Connecticut is 2- to begin a Huge East season for the initial time since2003-04, when the Huskies won their second of three national titles.
Calhoun, who was suspended for 3 conference games by the NCAA forfailing to generate an atmosphere of compliance within the program, will sit outTuesday’s game at Seton Hall before returning to the sidelines at Rutgers nextSaturday.
“We surely want to get three and for him and for ourselves,” Lamb stated.“We want to win just as poor as he do. I know it’s challenging for him watching. We’restill running coach Calhoun’s system. 1 much more game and we’ll be excellent.”
Harkless, a former UConn recruit who was coming off a Large East freshmandebut-record 32 points in a win more than Providence last week, hit just two of hisfirst seven shots.
“I think that I must have did a superior job of in the finish trying to takeover the game,” he stated. “I didn’t assert myself as substantially as I ought to have.”
The Red Storm had won the last two meetings with UConn, in the regularseason last year and in the 2010 Huge East tournament. But the Huskies have won10 of the last 11 against the Red Storm in the normal season, such as eightstraight at house.
The game is the first in a difficult stretch for St. John’s which also faces No.4 Louisville, No. 14 Marquette and No. 12 Georgetown in the first half ofJanuary.
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Grizzlies re-sign Iranian C Haddadi
December 31, 2011
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)—The Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed Hamed Haddadi,bringing back the Iranian center.
Haddadi is the first Iranian ever to play in the NBA. The 7-foot-2 reservecenter averaged two.4 points with two.two rebounds in 31 games last season for theGrizzlies.
The 26-year-old native of Ahvaz, Iran, has spent the past 3 seasons withMemphis, averaging 2.two points and 2.2 rebounds per game in 86 games.
Haddadi led Iran to an 8-1 record at the 2011 FIBA Asian Championship inChina, averaging 15.four points and 11.four rebounds.
Memphis announced the deal on Saturday.
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