Wall’s 23 help No. 5 Kentucky win in OT
November 26, 2009
CANCUN, Mexico (AP)—John Wall is five games into his college career and evenhis teammates think he’s ready for the next level.
The freshman sensation scored a season-best 23 points, including clutchshots in the final minute that sent the game to overtime, and No. 5 Kentuckyclosed with an eight-point run for a 73-65 victory over gritty Stanford onWednesday night in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge at the MoonPalace Resort.
“NBA, that’s all I’ve got to say,” Wildcats forward Patrick Pattersonsaid. “John Wall is a pro player and he wants the ball in crunch-timesituations. Whenever we need a basket or something on the offensive end John isgoing to be the one to do it.”
Wall made a game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left against Miami (Ohio) inhis debut. This time, he hit a 12-foot fadeaway jumper from the right wing totie the score at 61 with 30.6 seconds remaining in regulation, then two freethrows with 2.4 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe drained an NBA-length 3-pointer with 33 secondsto go that gave Kentucky (6-0) a 69-65 lead it did not relinquish. Wall cappedhis big night in style with a slam dunk at the final horn, setting off a wildcelebration by Kentucky players before a crowd of 1,425.
“I think we’ve got two guys when the game is on the line they are notafraid to make plays, which bodes well for us,” Kentucky coach John Caliparisaid. “You saw once again that late in the game I’m not calling a timeout. Idon’t need to be a hero, let those guys be the hero.”
Wall, Bledsoe and the Wildcats held Stanford without a field goal inovertime.
“Those two guys have the killer (instinct),” Calipari said. “What youwant is the guys with the killer to bleed onto the others. Just a will to win.”
It was an ending befitting a game that was close throughout and featuredclutch plays by both teams down the stretch. There were five lead changes andfive ties in the final 4 minutes of regulation and overtime.
Landry Fields, who finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, was fouled byRamon Harris during a scramble and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to give Stanford(3-3) a 63-61 lead with 28.2 seconds on the clock.
The Wildcats opted not to call a timeout and went to freshman forwardDeMarcus Cousins, who was fouled on the block. The 53.6 percent free throwshooter missed the first free throw and then the second on purpose, but fouledStanford’s Jarrett Mann on the rebound.
Mann, a 53 percent free throw shooter, then missed both of his free-throwattempts, setting up a final flurry. Wall drew a blocking call on AndrewZimmermann with 2.4 seconds left and calmly swished both free throws to tie itagain.
Stanford’s full-court pass was batted off the backboard by Patterson andcorralled by Wall to send the game to overtime.
“For such a young team, they showed a lot of poise down the stretch,”Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. “(Wall) is one of the fastest guards I’veever seen play on any level. He showed a lot of poise for his age. He’s aterrific player.”
The game was marked by several long stoppages in play. Officials spentseveral minutes reviewing a Stanford 3-pointer and intentional foul in the firsthalf, then a shot clock malfunction had tournament organizers searching for aladder with 11:31 left in regulation.
Fields put the Cardinal on his back late in the first half, scoring sixstraight points during a late run that gave Stanford a 38-32 lead at halftime.Aided by Jeremy Green’s four 3-pointers, the duo tallied 27 of Stanford’s 38points and helped hold Kentucky’s up-tempo offense scoreless over the final5:09.
On the other side, Wall was the only Kentucky player to get going before thebreak. The freshman guard had 15 points but could not do all the heavy liftingwith preseason All-American forward Patterson going out of the game less thansix minutes in with two fouls. Without Patterson’s inside presence the Wildcatsstruggled to get anything in the paint and shot just 35.5 percent from thefield.
Patterson got going early in the second half on his way to his 25th careerdouble-double, but he missed two point-blank opportunities on the samepossession that would have given Kentucky its first lead since late in the firsthalf with just over 10 minutes remaining.
He made up for it later, using a power post move to give Kentucky a 54-53lead with 6:42 to play.
It was only the third meeting between the schools and first since the 1998NCAA tournament semifinals. Kentucky won that showdown 86-85 in overtime on itsway to its seventh—and most recent—national championship.
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