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Desmond Allison tallied 11 points and seven boards against Pennsylvania. |
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By TIM WHITMIRE
AP Sports Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 14 Kentucky tookcontrol with an 18-4 run midway through thesecond half and cruised to a 67-50 victory overPennsylvania on Wednesday night in the first roundof the Preseason NIT.
With the season-opening win, the Wildcatsadvanced to face No. 16 Utah in the second roundof the tournament, to be played Friday at RuppArena. The winner travels to Madison SquareGarden in New York for next week’s semifinals.
Coming off the bench, freshman big man MarvinStone enjoyed a sensational debut for the Wildcats,leading the team with 12 points and grabbed sixrebounds. His rim-rattling dunk with 5:56 remaininggave Kentucky a 61-44 lead and brought the fansout of their seats to punctuate the win.
Though their attack frequently sputtered, theWildcats got balanced scoring and rebounding fromup and down their lineup. Jamaal Magloire had 11points and a team-high nine rebounds, TayshaunPrince had nine points and eight rebounds andDesmond Allison had 11 points and seven boards.
A swarming Wildcats defense, which mixed inliberal doses of a full- and half-court press, limitedPenn to just 31.6 percent shooting from the field,26.9 percent from 3-point range. For the game, theWildcats outrebounded the Quakers 43-37.
Matt Langel and Ugonna Onyekwe each had 14 points for the Penn, withOnyekwe grabbing eight rebounds. Guard Michael Jordan, who averaged15.3 points per game last season for the Ivy League champions, was heldscoreless in the first half and finished with just five points on 2-of-14shooting.
With Kentucky leading 38-36 with 13:46 remaining, Saul Smith kicked offthe Wildcats 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 topush the 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 thegame.
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.
