Dec 18, 2001
By JIM O’CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Jason Williams’ career game kept top-rankedDuke’s winning streak alive.
The junior guard scored 38 points, including 23 of his team’s final 31 inregulation, and the Blue Devils beat No. 7 Kentucky 95-92 in overtime in theJimmy V Classic for their 20th consecutive victory.
Duke, the defending national champion, was down 59-47 with 12:30 remainingwhen Williams took over. He scored every way imaginable and his 3-pointer with5:10 left gave Duke (10-0) a 68-67 lead, its first being up 31-30 in the firsthalf.
Williams, whose previous career-high was 35 points two games ago againstMichigan, proved he wasn’t perfect when he missed the second of two free throwswith 8.8 seconds left in regulation to leave the game tied at 78. Kentucky’sCliff Hawkins missed a 3 at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.
Williams gave Duke the lead for good in the overtime with a three-point playthat made it 91-89 with 1:39 left. He found Carlos Boozer for a layup with 58seconds to go to make it a five-point lead.
The Wildcats (6-2), who had a six-game winning streak of their own, closedto 93-91 on two free throws by Keith Bogans with 43 seconds left, but DahntayJones iced it for Duke when he converted an offensive rebound with 9.6 secondsleft.
Mike Dunleavy added 21 points for Duke, which improved to 16-1 in theMeadowlands Arena, while Boozer had 15.
Freshman Rashaad Carruth, who had played in only three games because of asprained ankle and had a total of 12 points this season, had 19 for Kentucky,while Tayshaun Prince added 17 and Hawkins had 15.
The last time these teams went to overtime was with a lot more at stake andwith college basketball history to be made.
Duke beat Kentucky 104-103 in overtime in Philadelphia in 1992 to advance tothe Final Four on Christian Laettner’s turnaround at the buzzer. That game isconsidered one of the sport’s classics.
Williams set a Jimmy V Classic record with the 38 points, bettering theprevious mark of 31 set by Marc Jackson of Temple in 1995 and matched by A.J.Guyton of Indiana in 1999.
Williams, who slightly injured his groin in Duke’s win over North CarolinaA&T on Sunday, was 7-for-10 from 3-point range, tying the game record for 3sset by Guyton.
Jules Camara had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats, who dominatedthe boards 51-34, including 22-13 on the offensive end.
Duke trailed 43-40 at halftime and Kentucky scored the first seven points ofthe second half. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski pulled his starters with 17:02 toplay and the Blue Devils down by 10. They didn’t return until there was 14:08left and Duke’s team of subs that included freshman Daniel Ewing, regularreserve Casey Sanders and three others, none of whom had played more than atotal of 44 minutes even with all the blowouts wins.
When the starters returned it was 54-47 and Kentucky still extended the leadto as much as 12 before Williams started the Blue Devils on their comeback thatextended the nation’s longest winning streak.
