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UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- A Prince saved Kentucky from a pauper's burial in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament East Regional at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday. For the second straight year Kentucky received a scare in the opening round, but Tayshaun Prince bailed the Wildcats out by scoring 10 of his team's last 12 points to pace a 72-68 triumph over Patriot League champion Holy Cross. The victory was eerily reminiscent of last year's first round game when Kentucky barely survived an 85-80 double-overtime contest with St. Bonaventure in an East Region game in Cleveland. The Wildcats were eliminated by Syracuse, 52-50, in the second round but now will play Iowa on Saturday. Kentucky (23-9), seeded second in the East, led at halftime, 36-27, and seemed to have command of the game even midway through the second half. But a valiant effort by the Crusaders, especially from behind the 3-point arc, enabled them to tie the score at 58-58 with 6:28 remaining. "(Holy Cross coach) Ralph Williard's team plays a lot like we do," Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith said. "They are very quick. I am also impressed with Josh Sankes' inside play and shot-blocking ability. They deserve to be the No. 1 defensive team in the county." But Prince took over after the Crusaders pulled even. He hit two consecutive 3-pointers to give Kentucky a 64-58 lead, and after a basket by Holy Cross' Jared Curry, Prince scored from inside to restore the Wildcats' lead to six points. "It took a while to get the outside game going," Prince said. "We had a hard time on in the inside offensively against excellent shot-blocking. When we got the threes falling, things just fell into place.," Holy Cross (22-8), seeded 15th, fought back to come within three points at 68-65, but Prince wove his way through the Crusaders' defense to score on a driving layup with under a minute to go to give Kentucky a 70-65 lead. "We had a chance to win this game," Willard said. "Both teams made big plays. Tayshaun Prince made two big threes down the stretch that changed the outcome." "In certain situations, guys look to me and Keith Bogans to get the game going, to make something happen," Prince added. "Our guys did a great job of getting us open to get good looks. We just had to hit the shots." The Crusaders mounted one last effort when sharpshooter Ryan Serravalle hit on a 3-pointer to bring Holy Cross within three points with 12 seconds left. Forced to foul in order to have a chance at getting the ball back, the Crusaders sent Prince to the line and he calmly sank two free throws to ice the game with 7.2 seconds remaining. Prince led all scorers with 27 points while Curry topped Holy Cross, which hit on 10-of-18 from 3-point range, with 16 points. Sankes, the Crusaders' 7-foot center who led the Patriot League in rebounding, pulled down 10 as Holy Cross won the battle of the boards, 31-27. "Everything was fast-paced out there," Sankes said. "It was physical inside. It felt like I was in a WWF wrestling match. Kentucky's athletes were quicker and could jump. It reminded me of playing in the Big East again." Kentucky, however, committed only nine turnovers to 19 for Holy Cross. "We have a lot of respect for Holy Cross," Bogans added. "You never look down on a team or you will be the ones to go home early." It was the 10th time a Patriot League team has appeared in the NCAA Tournament, and the conference remains winless. "Accepting losses when you give that much effort is hard to do," Williard said. "I told the kids, when you invest in something, it should hurt. We don't have the most talented kids, but they are smart and follow the game plan." "I congratulated them on a great year," Smith added. "They deserve all the accolades. It was a great game and they gave us all we wanted." Bogans collected 17 points and six assists for Kentucky, which made half of their 58 field goal attempts and was 5-of-15 from 3-point range. |
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