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Kentucky hands Vanderbilt first loss

Jan 12, 2008 - 11:32 PM LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Ticker) -- A big game from Patrick Patterson and a strong finish by Ramel Bradley helped Kentucky knock Vanderbilt from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Patterson scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while Bradley scored all 20 of his points after halftime as the Wildcats held off the No. 12 Commodores for a 79-73 double-overtime victory Saturday in Southeastern Conference action at Rupp Arena.

The freshman Patterson gave Kentucky (7-7, 1-0 SEC East) a 75-73 lead with 2:54 left in the second overtime. Bradley followed with a jumper with 33 seconds left and Joe Crawford knocked down two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Wildcats.

"This was a very good win for us against a very good team," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said. "We never quit and we hit a couple key shots down the stretch. They (Vanderbilt) had their chances and missed some of their shots. We are very fortunate to get a win today."

The Commodores (16-1, 1-1 SEC), who were off to their best start in school history, had forced a second overtime when freshman Andrew Ogilvy scored on a follow shot with two seconds left in the first extra period.

"We knew we had to earn this win because Vanderbilt kept fighting the whole way," Bradley said. "We made some big plays in overtime to boost our confidence and we knew we could handle this type of situation."

The Wildcats took control early in the first half, outscoring Vanderbilt, 15-2, over a four-minute span to open a 23-10 lead midway through the first half. Derrick Jasper paced the run with a pair of 3-pointers and Patterson added four points on two free throws and a dunk.

"They came out ready to play and I thought we really did all we could the first 10 minutes of the game to accommodate them," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "I thought our team fought extremely hard after the first 10 minutes."

The Commodores momentarily halted Kentucky's momentum with a 3-pointer by Alex Gordon at the 9:04 mark, but still entered halftime trailing by double figures, 32-22.

Vanderbilt entered the locker room with more turnovers (10) than field goals (8). Kentucky also held a commanding 18-9 edge in rebounding at the half.

"We knew we could play defense like this and rebound like this," Patterson said. "We just haven't done it to our potential this season. We were able to come out and play the way we can today."

After opening a 44-29 lead five minutes into the second half, the Wildcats saw their lead dwindle to just 60-58 with two minutes left. The Commodores picked up their offense behind their two leading scorers, Shan Foster and Ogilvy, who combined to score 13 points over that stretch.

Crawford and Foster traded 3-pointers to make it 63-61 before Bradley hit a leaner with 55 seconds left to give Kentucky a 65-61 lead.

After a free throw by Jermaine Beal, Bradley was called for traveling and Foster buried a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to tie the score at 65-65 to send the game into overtime.

"When teams fight back and close in on the lead, that's when you have to stay poised and focused," Bradley said. "During the huddles, we just told each other to step up and rebound and to make stops.

"We didn't want to play too lose or be complacent. Our strategy was to run the clock and rebound the ball."

Crawford added 17 points for the Wildcats, who shot 47 percent (25-of-57) from the field.

Foster paced the Commodores with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Ogilvy added 16 while Gordon had 12 and Darshawn McClellan finished with 10.

Vanderbilt shot 44 percent (24-of-54) from the field.

"I think we got taken out of our game a little bit at the start," Ogilvy said. "We just tried to recover, but never could."

It was 169th meeting between the teams, with Kentucky taking a 129-40 advantage in the series, including a 75-14 edge at Rupp Arena. The win also snaps a four-game losing skid to Vanderbilt.