Kentucky
Record setting night for Bearkats against Kentucky
11/19/2009 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Allmond's 11 buckets from outside set SHSU and Southland Conference records as well as the most by any player at historic Rupp Arena. He finished the night with a game-high 37 points in the Kats' first matchup against a top-five opponent since taking on No. 1 UCLA in 2006.
The Bearkats also set a team record for most 3-pointers with 18, which was also a Rupp Arena record for a Kentucky opponent.
The Wildcats (3-0) stormed out of the gate, jumping up on the Kats (2-1) and building a 12-point lead in the game's first three minutes. But, Allmond's outside shooting kept the game from getting away from the Bearkats. The senior from Oxon Hill, Md., knocked down eight of his outside shots in the first half, and the Kats went into the break down 53-42.
"We got off to a poor start and we fell behind, but we were able to close the gap a little bit because of our shooting in the first half," Bearkat coach Bob Marlin said. "Kentucky had too many runs. They scored on six possessions in a row. At the end of the half, they scored at the end with a three. In the second half, we let them go out and score on eight of the first nine possessions.
In the first half, the Bearkats knocked down 12 3-pointers in the game's, with just two made baskets from inside the arc. The Bearkats cooled off from outside in the second half, but still managed to put 50 points on the board in the second half. Kentucky, however, never cooled off. The Wildcats shot at a 63-percent clip in the first half and followed that up shooting 57 percent in the second half.
"How many baskets outside of three-pointers did they have at halftime? Two, so what do you think that I told them at halftime? I said, 'Make everybody drive.' Make them shoot layups," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "Let me tell you what they did. They leaked out a guy. Do you understand what leaked out a guy means? As soon as we shot, a kid ran (down the floor). So we got a guy back with him but it is not his man and we don't talk. So instead of saying, 'I got yours now you got mine.' No one speaks, so now no one knows who is who. We step up and take the guy dribbling and leave the best three-point shooter maybe in America tonight with no one on him. That is what happened."
The Bearkats pulled to 81-73 with 6:58 remaining before one last burst by the Wildcats pushed the lead to 94-77. The Bearkats never got closer than 10 the rest of the way. Kentucky was able to use their size and athleticism to their advantage, outrebounding the Bearkats by 15. The Wildcats also outscored the Kats 48-18 in the paint.
"(DeMarcus) Cousins played super and (Patrick) Patterson is a great player, obviously," Marlin said. "Those two guys made us want to shoot from the perimeter. In a lot of our offense, we go inside out, but tonight we played a lot of stuff on the perimeter. Once (Corey) Allmond got hot, we started going to him."
In addition to Allmond's 37, the Kats had two other players in double figures scoring. Gilberto Clavell scored 14 points and Preston Brown added 11 in just nine minutes on the floor.
For Kentucky, five players scored in double-figures, with DeMarcus Cousins scoring 27 points and 18 rebounds. Patrick Patterson had 20 points and nine boards and John Wall added 21 points and six assists.
The Bearkats will continue action in the Cancun Classic on Saturday when they travel to Ohio to take on Cleveland State. That game will be a 6 p.m. tip. The Kats will then head down to Cancun for two more as they take on Oral Roberts on Tuesday and either Rider or Florida A&M on Wednesday.
The next home game for the Bearkat men will be Monday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. against Mid-America. Attending the contest can help Sam Houston students earn a free T-Shirt.
The first 500 SHSU students to attend any combination of three home men's or women's basketball games will win a Bearkat basketball t-shirt courtesy of Student Activities and Bearkat Athletics.
Attendees will be tracked via the BearkatOneCard. For the purposes of the promotion, the men's and women's basketball doubleheader on Monday, November 30, will count as one event only. Sam Students receive free admission to BEarkat home games on presentation of their BearkatOneCard.
Huntsville area fans can purchase tickets on-line now at www.gobearkats.com or by contacting the Sam Houston State athletic ticket office at the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
Cancun Classic Scores and Schedule:
Nov. 18
Oral Roberts 83, at Stanford 81
Nov. 19
at Kentucky 102, SHSU 92
at Virginia 79, Rider 46
at Cleveland State 78, Florida A&M 64
Nov. 21
Florida A&M at Stanford, 3 p.m.
Sam Houston State at Cleveland State, 6 p.m.
Rider at Kentucky, Noon
Oral Roberts at Virginia, Noon
Games in CANCUN, Mexico
Nov. 24
Florida A&M vs Rider, 10 a.m.
Oral Roberts vs. Sam Houston State, 12:30 p.m.
Kentucky vs. Cleveland State, 3:30 p.m.
Virginia vs. Stanford, 6:00 p.m.
Nov. 25
Florida A&M-Rider loser vs.Oral Roberts-Sam Houston State loser, 12:30 p.m.
Florida A&M-Rider winner vs. Oral Roberts-Sam Houston State winner, 3:00 p.m.
Kentucky-Cleveland St. loser vs. Virginia-Stanford loser, 6:00 p.m.
Kentucky-Cleveland St. winner vs. Virginia-Stanford winner, 8:30 p.m.
