NCAA tournament: No. 1-seeded Kentucky stops No. 12 Cornell, 62-45
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Cornell’s contagious chant of “Let’s Go Red!” finally turned into “Let’s Go Home.”
It was Ivy League fantastic while it lasted — two NCAA rounds — and at least going home meant only an hour’s drive back to Ithaca.
Cornell had the Carrier Dome shaking when it jumped to an early 10-2 lead, but Kentucky then surged to a big lead and withstood a last charge to score a 62-45 win in the East Regional semifinals.
Kentucky plays West Virginia on Saturday with the winner advancing to next week’s Final Four in Indianapolis.
Cornell scored its first two NCAA wins last weekend by shooting 59% from the field, and 45% from three-point range, in double-digit victories over No. 5-seeded Temple and No. 4 Wisconsin.
But then Big Red hit Blue Grass. Cornell got caught in a 16-point halftime hole by shooting 38.9% (seven for 18) and making only two of nine three-point attempts.
It was too much to overcome.
Cornell had averaged 82 points in its first two tournament games.
Kentucky (35-2) led by as many as 17 in the second half before Cornell’s shot makers finally woke up.
Louis Dale’s three-pointer with 5:38 left cut the lead to six and got the Cornell crowd back in the game, but Kentucky scored three straight baskets to increase its lead back to 12.
Ryan Wittman’s three with 3:40 again cut the lead to single digits, at nine, but Kentucky held on. The last few minutes became a foul-fest and Kentucky made enough free throws to ward off any thoughts of a miracle finish.
The game turned toward Kentucky in the first half when the Wildcats rallied from 10-2 down to go on a 30-6 run.
It was still a five-point game near the end of the half when Darius Miller put down a two-hand slam with 3:28 left.
John Wall then followed with his own two-hander, and then Miller hit a three with 2:07 left.
With 1:48 left, Eric Bledsoe raced the ball down court and then flipped a pass to Wall, who made a back-hand layup. Then, with four seconds left before the half, Ramon Harris scored to cap an 11-0 run.
Cornell’s season ends at 29-5. The Big Red became the first Ivy League school to reach the Sweet 16 since Penn in 1979. Penn advanced to the Final Four that season.
-- Chris Dufresne, reporting from Syracuse, N.Y.
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