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Kentucky downs Huskies, will face UConn in Maui title game

Nov 24, 2010 - 5:54 AM Maui, HI (Sports Network) - Freshmen Brandon Knight scored a game-high 24 points and Terrence Jones continued the torrid start to his collegiate career with 16 points and 17 rebounds as eighth-ranked Kentucky held off 13th-rated Washington, 74-67, in the semifinals at the 2010 Maui Invitational.

Josh Harrellson added nine points and 14 boards for the Wildcats (4-0), who will face Connecticut, which knocked off second-ranked Michigan State, in Wednesday's championship tilt.

Isaiah Thomas scored 13 points and Justin Holiday added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (3-1), who had put together the highest-scoring three-game stretch in school history, including topping the century mark twice, before being held to a season-low in points.

Kentucky has won both all-time meetings between the schools, with the other coming in the first round of the 1985 NCAA Tournament.

Harrellson's layup put Kentucky ahead 64-55 with 5 1/2 minutes to play.

Thomas knocked down two fouls shots and Overton's reverse layup trimmed the Washington deficit to 66-63 before the teams traded layups.

Jones made 1-of-2 at the line with 57 seconds left prior to a driving layup by Thomas that sliced the lead to 69-67 with 47.3 ticks to go in the game.

Doron Lamb sank two foul shots with 36.4 seconds left to push the margin to four and, after a Thomas miss on a three-point try and a held ball gave Kentucky possession, Jones hit 1-of-2 at the line with 18.1 seconds remaining.

Thomas then missed two from the line with 14 seconds left before Darius Miller sewed up the outcome with a pair of free throws seven seconds later.

Knight scored half of the Wildcats' 18 consecutive points that gave them a 20-6 lead six minutes into the game.

Washington countered with a 21-7 surge of its own to grab a 33-30 edge on a Darnell Gant trifecta with 1:17 to go before the break.

Harrellson's tip-in with three ticks remaining got Kentucky to within 35-34 at the intermission.

Game Notes

Jones has posted a double-double in three of his four games to start the season...He made 8-of-14 from the line for the Wildcats, who were 21-of-34 from the stripe...Jones, who is from Portland, Oregon, initially commited to Washington before changing his mind and joining Kentucky...Knight made 10- of-17 from the floor and had five rebounds but committed eight turnovers. Kentucky is 10-4 all-time in this tournament...Overton scored eight points and grabbed four boards before fouling out...The Huskies shot just 38.5 percent from the field while Kentucky managed just a 39 percent effort...Both teams sank only three tries from beyond the arc..The Huskies had won 12 of their last 13 games before Wednesday night.