No. 1 Kentucky Upset by Vandy in SEC Final
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www.kentuckynewera.com | SPORTS | Monday-Tuesday, March 12-13, 2012 B3 BRIEFS n COLLEGE BASKETBALL n Hoptown’s Soldo named to All-Tournament team Following Saturday night’s KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament champi- onship when DuPont Man- ual defeated Marion County 58-54, Hopkinsville High School’s Christy Soldo was named to the All-Tournament team. Soldo led the Lady Tigers to their first region title and a school record 32-5 record. Hopkinsville also won its first-ever Sweet 16 tournament game 56-52 over Marshall County. Trigg wrestlers claim titles at Central Hardin Trigg County wrestlers Colin Stevens and Aaron Stevens both won their re- spective divisions at the Belt Series Tournament Saturday at Central Hardin High School. Colin Stevens won the Novice 100-pound division and Aaron Stevens claimed first place in the Cadet 195-pound division. Rose rallies to capture World Golf Championship DORAL, Fla. (AP) — On a day of endless drama at Doral, Justin Rose won the Cadillac Championship standing on the practice range. Rose closed with a 2- under 70 on Sunday for a one-shot victory over Bubba Watson, who hit a bullet out of the palm trees to just inside 10 feet for a chance to force a playoff. His birdie putt missed, ending a wild day even by Watson’s standards. It was the 10th win world- wide for Rose, and his first World Golf Championship. If that wasn’t enough, Tiger Woods muddied his Masters future when he withdrew after 11 holes with soreness in left No. 1 Kentucky upset Achilles tendon. As he was leaving, Rory McIlroy holed a bunker shot for eagle and rallied within one shot of the lead. He finished third. by Vandy in SEC final BY BRETT MARTEL were missing. Some days it’s like that.” McNeill rallies to win AP SPORTS WRITER Jeffery Taylor scored 18 points, John Puerto Rico Open Jenkins added 17 and Vanderbilt rallied NEW ORLEANS — John Calipari with a 16-2 run over the final 5 minutes RIO GRANDE, Puerto said from the time he arrived in the Big to end the Wildcats’ winning streak that Rico (AP) — George Mc- Easy that he didn’t like conference lasted more than three months. Neill has birdied his last tournaments. “Their 24 game winning streak. Their three holes for a 3-under 69 After top-ranked Kentucky endured name on the front of their jersey does- to rally past Japanese star three tough games in as many days with n’t matter to us,” Vanderbilt’s Lance Ryo Ishikawa and win the no league title to show Goulbourne said. Puerto Rico Open. for it, his opinion was- “Whoever was in our Ishikawa, on the anniver- Vanderbilt (71) n’t bound to change Player FG FGA FT TP way, we were going to sary of the earthquake any time soon. Goulbourne 3 506 Taylor 6 13 4 18 play as hard as we and tsunami that left his “I wish this would homeland in ruins, closed Ezeli 5 9717 could to try to win that have happened yesterday Tinsley 2 605 with a 68 on Sunday and championship.” so we got home a day ear- Jenkins 3 12 8 17 had a one-shot lead. Mc- Johnson 2 426 Festus Ezeli had 17 Neill caught him with a lier,” Calipari said Sun- Parker 0 100points for Vanderbilt (24- day after the Wildcats Tchiengang 1 10210), which was playing birdie on the 16th, took the Odom 0 000 lead with a birdie on the collapsed late in a 71-64 Totals 22 51 21 71 in its first SEC tourna- 17th and added another loss to Vanderbilt in the Kentucky (64) ment final since 1951, Player FG FGA FT TP birdie on the par-5 18th. Southeastern Confer- the year of its only other Jones 5 11 1 12 ASSOCIATED PRESS It was the second career ence tournament final. Davis 4 9412 championship. The win for McNeill, who fin- The Wildcats (32-2) Miller 7 17 0 16 Commodores pushed Louisville's Peyton Siva (3) poses with the MVP trophy after a Lamb 2 11 6 11 game against Cincinnati in the final of the Big East Conference ished on 16-under 272. won two of their three Teague 0 700ahead in the final min- Ishikawa had his best ca- games in New Orleans Kidd-Gilchrist 2 415utes with a few timely tournament Saturday in New York. Louisville won 50-44. but never led any by Vargas 0 100shots, but mostly with reer finish on the PGA Tour. Wiltjer 3 408 Henrik Stenson (71) and more than single digits Totals 23 64 12 64 suffocating defense. Boo Weekley (66) tied for and trailed in the sec- 3-Point goals — Vanderbilt 6-18 (Jenkins 3, Tay- Darius Miller scored Louisville wins ond half of all three. lor 2, Tinsley); Kentucky 6-28 (Wiltjer 2, Miller 2, third, three shots behind. Jones, Lamb). Rebounds — Vanderbilt 40 (Taylor 16 points in a surprise Still, they were on the 11); Kentucky 37 (Jones 11). Assists — Vanderbilt start for Kentucky while cusp of extending their Stewart uses bold move 8 (Tinsley 4); Kentucky 12 (Teague 6). Total fouls Terrence Jones and winning streak to 25 — Vanderbilt16; Kentucky 22. A— 18,114. Davis both added 12. 2nd Big East title games when Anthony Scoring by halves: late to win at Las Vegas Vanderbilt 37 34 — 71 Davis had 10 rebounds Davis’ free throw gave Kentucky 37 27 — 64 and three blocked shots, BY JIM O’CONNELL ing run, Louisville gave LAS VEGAS (AP) — them a 62-55 lead with but he got into some rare AP BASKETBALL WRITER Pitino his latest title Timing the restart per- 5:23 left. Then Kentucky early foul trouble that with a 50-44 victory over fectly, Tony Stewart dove suddenly started settling for jump shots, limited his effectiveness. NEW YORK — Rick Cincinnati on Saturday to the edge of the apron taking nine from that point and missing all Kentucky missed its last 14 field goals Pitino has coached 10 night in the Big East and ducked under the two of them, including five from 3-point range. teams to conference cars in front of him. in all, not hitting one over the final 8:04. championship game. “We just went ice cold. There was tournament champi- With one bold move, the The Wildcats shot just 35.9 percent from “I think you can see like a lid on the basket. Nothing was defending Sprint Cup the field (23 of 64). onships in his 27 seasons how excited our guys champion was on his way falling for us,” said freshman point “Maybe now everybody realizes we’re not in college basketball. are and how much the to a redemptive win. guard Marquis Teague, who went invincible,” Calipari said. “We’re like every- No. 10 seemed to be es- tournament means to Stewart made a three- scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting. “It was body else out there. We’re going to have to pecially sweet. us,” Pitino said. “It’s spe- wide pass on a late restart wide open shots that we normally execute, play hard and with some aggres- Playing tenacious de- cial because I love coach- and held off Jimmie John- make. So it was surprising us that we siveness and intensity or we will get beat.” fense throughout and ing these guys. We have son at Las Vegas Motor mustering just enough a very unusual group. Speedway on Sunday, win- offense to hold off a clos- It’s a throw back.” ning at a track that was the site of his biggest disap- pointment last season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. domi- UK: ’Cats look to regroup MSU: Racers nated the early part of the FROM PAGE B1 race, leading 70 of the first 73 laps — 18 more than he long time,” guard Doron Lamb said. “Now to face Rams had in all of 2011. He we know how it feels and we don’t like this dropped back after taking feeling so we’re going to try to win these next FROM PAGE B1 four tires while nearly else six games.” While the Racers have took two during a caution Beyond the freshmen class of Davis, Kidd- been historically strong, this on lap 74 and finished 10th. Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer, year has exceeded every ex- the Wildcats also returned sophomores Ter- pectation under their rookie BASKETBALL rence Jones and Lamb along with senior coach .Prohm, a long-time n Darius Miller. All seven are eventually ex- assistant to Billy Kennedy, pected to play in the NBA, and all but Wiltjer took over after Kennedy de- BLEACHERS: UK may check their draft stock when this season parted for Texas A&M. ends. The Racers have won set for tough road Kentucky reached the Final Four for the three straight regular-sea- 14th time last year, falling to eventual cham- son Ohio Valley Conference FROM PAGE B1 pion Connecticut in the national semifinals. titles and two of the past The committee’s work is This group is in the best position to break three conference tourna- done. Now the teams will bat- the school’s 13-year title drought and bring ments. In 2010, Murray State tle it out on the hardwood. home the eighth crown in Kentucky’s illus- reached the second round of Will Kentucky win a na- trious history. the NCAA tournament, but tional title? I like its chances. Before Sunday, the Wildcats only other loss fell to eventual runner-up came on Dec.