Lexington, KY (Sports Network) – Patrick Patterson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, as fifth-ranked Kentucky held on to beat No. 10 North Carolina, 68-66, in an early season heavyweight matchup from Rupp Arena.Freshman sensation John Wall had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds and three steals for the Wildcats (8-0), but also had seven turnovers and missed the early part of the second half with cramps.
Patterson And Wall Lead Kentucky To A Big Win
Darnell Dodson and Eric Bledsoe each scored nine for Kentucky, which held a 19-point lead in the first half and pulled out the victory to snap a five-game losing streak against North Carolina. The Wildcats’ last win in this series, between the two winningest teams in college basketball history, came in January 2004.
Deon Thompson ended with 14 points and nine boards for the Tar Heels (7-2), who had won their last three, including a win over Michigan State on Tuesday. Will Graves sank 4-of-7 three-pointers and ended with 13 points, while Tyler Zeller scored 10.
The Tar Heels trailed by double digits for most of the first half, but used a 10-0 run shortly into the second to start to get back in the game.
Thompson fueled the rally with five points, and Ed Davis’ jumper ended it to cut North Carolina’s deficit to 45-38. Later in the half, UNC had seven consecutive points, the last coming on a three from David Wear with under 10 minutes left to make it 54-49.
The Tar Heels continued to get closer, and a Zeller layup with 4 1/2 minutes left ended a five-point burst to get them within 59-56.
But neither team scored on its next few possessions, and with 2:31 to go, Bledsoe made two free throws. After a missed three from Larry Drew II at the other end, Wall stole the ball from Davis and raced up the court on a fast break. He was tripped, and Bledsoe got open for an easy layup under the basket on the ensuing inbound, making it a 63-56 game with 1:55 to go.
The Tar Heels, however, countered with a three in transition from Graves, and after a Kentucky turnover, Thompson hit a short baseline jumper with 32.4 seconds on the clock to bring UNC within a basket.
But the Tar Heels got no closer, as Bledsoe made two free throws with 30.5 to go, then sank 1-of-2 after Graves missed a three. Wall made a pair in the final seconds to seal the victory.
North Carolina got off to a 9-2 lead, but the Wildcats came back with a 28-2 run to take control. Kentucky rattled off 16 consecutive points to start it, as each basket elicited progressively greater cheers from the home crowd. Wall had an underhand, reverse layup during the stretch, and later dished to Darius Miller for a three that put Kentucky ahead 18-9.
After Drew stopped the rally briefly with a jumper, Kentucky poured in 12 more points. Patterson, who totaled eight points during the stretch, made two free throws for a 30-11 contest with under nine minutes left.
The lead still stood at a game-high 19 when Wall’s jumper made it 39-20 with under five minutes left, but the Tar Heels trimmed their deficit down the stretch.
A free throw from John Henson got UNC within 12 with just over a minute left, but Patterson sank a three to cap the first-half scoring and give Kentucky a 43-28 advantage at the break.
UNC still leads all-time series, 21-11…Kentucky’s last win in the series came on January 3, 2004, in Lexington…Davis ended with 10 rebounds and nine points for the Tar Heels.
- Via Sports Network
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