Real College Basketball

In a back and forth battle between two top 15 teams, Wall, who plays like anything but the freshman that he is, scored 12 of the Wildcats last 15 points to withstand the Huskies late rally and get the 64-61 victory at Madison Square Garden as part of the Big East/SEC Invitational.

Kentucky started this game on a 12-0 run, followed by a quick 10-0 run to counter, by Connecticut. Connecticut seemed to take somewhat control of the game going into the half ahead 29-23 lead by senior guard Jerome Dyson’s 13 first half points.

Connecticut lead by as many as seven in the second half, until Kentucky made a run and took the lead on two Patrick Patterson free throws at the 11:35 mark, a lead they would not relinquish until Connecticut guard Kemba Walker hit a jumper to take back the lead 61-60 with 1:12 left to play in the game. It would be the last points the Huskies would score, as Kentucky scored the last 4 to overtake Connecticut and win 64-61. Connecticut had plenty of shots in the last :15, but couldn’t get anything to fall.

John Wall lead the Wildcats with 25 points on 10-16 shooting from the field, including connecting on his only three point attempt in the second half and going 4-4 from the line.
He also contributed on the defensive end, adding 6 steals on the night. Patrick Patterson had a good game as well, putting up 16 points. Freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 10 and 10.

For Connecticut guards Jerome Dyson, 17 points and 5 rebounds, and Kemba Walker, 12 points and 6 assists, led the way. Stanley Robinson added 10 points and 9 boards for the Huskies.