Nov. 17, 1999
By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 14 Kentucky took control with an 18-4 run midwaythrough the second half and cruised to a 67-50 victory over Pennsylvania onWednesday night in the first round of the Preseason NIT.
With the season-opening win, the Wildcats advanced to face No. 16 Utah inthe second round of the tournament, to be played Friday at Rupp Arena. Thewinner travels to Madison Square Garden in New York for next week’s semifinals.
Coming off the bench, freshman big man Marvin Stone enjoyed a sensationaldebut for the Wildcats, leading the team with 12 points and grabbed sixrebounds. His rim-rattling dunk with 5:56 remaining gave Kentucky a 61-44 leadand brought the fans out of their seats to punctuate the win.
Though their attack frequently sputtered, the Wildcats got balanced scoringand rebounding from up and down their lineup. Jamaal Magloire had 11 points anda team-high nine rebounds, Tayshaun Prince had nine points and eight reboundsand Desmond Allison had 11 points and seven boards.
A swarming Wildcats defense, which mixed in liberal doses of a full- andhalf-court press, limited Penn to just 31.6 percent shooting from the field,26.9 percent from 3-point range. For the game, the Wildcats outrebounded theQuakers 43-37.
Matt Langel and Ugonna Onyekwe each had 14 points for the Penn, with Onyekwegrabbing eight rebounds. Guard Michael Jordan, who averaged 15.3 points pergame last season for the Ivy League champions, was held scoreless in the firsthalf and finished with just five points on 2-of-14 shooting.
With Kentucky leading 38-36 with 13:46 remaining, Saul Smith kicked off theWildcats charge with a 3-pointer. Moments later, after a frenetic series ofsteals and blocks at both ends of the floor, Stone added a short jumper to pushthe lead to seven.
After two free throws by Allison and another 3-pointer, this one by Prince,Kentucky led 48-36 and was in control.
The Wildcats had jumped ahead 15-4 in the first half, thanks to an 11-0 run,but tentative offensive play and mediocre shooting let Penn back into the game.
Trailing 21-13, the Quakers got five points from Onyekwe and eight pointsfrom Langel, including two 3-pointers, in a 13-2 surge that gave them a brieflead.
Langel, however, played most of the first half with two fouls and picked uphis third early in the second half, forcing Penn coach Fran Dunphy to sit himfor long stretches. He never regained his shooting touch, finishing 5-of-11from the field.
