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Foster, Vanderbilt crush Kentucky

Feb 13, 2008 - 6:09 AM NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Vanderbilt got revenge from its first loss of the season in emphatic fashion.

Shan Foster scored 20 points and freshman A.J. Ogilvy had 19 and 11 rebounds as No. 19 Vanderbilt dismantled Kentucky, 93-52, in a Southeastern Conference laugher on Tuesday.

Ross Neltner chipped in 15 points for the Commodores, who dealt the Wildcats their worst loss since a 150-95 setback at Kansas on December 9, 1989. It was also Kentucky's most lopsided setback in the SEC since play began in 1932-33.

"I don't know what to say other than I thought we played pretty well," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "Especially in the first half I thought we were really as good defensively as I've ever seen this team play. We obviously caught Kentucky on a night where they were off. It was our night, it wasn't theirs and sometimes in this league, things can snowball on you."

After opening the season 16-0, the Commodores were defeated by the Wildcats, 79-73, in double overtime on January 12.

But this time around, Vanderbilt (21-4, 6-4 SEC East) dominated the contest from the opening tip, en route to matching Rose Polytechnic in 1910 for the fifth-most lopsided victory over Kentucky.

"That was a good whipping," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said. "Congratulations to Vanderbilt. They played great. We just didn't have any answers. We just missed some shots and let it affect the we way we played defensively."

Tied at 3-3, Vanderbilt scored 12 straight points - capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Neltner and Foster - to take a 15-3 advantage with 15:11 left in the first half.

It did not get any better for the Wildcats from there as the Commodores later went on a 15-0 burst to open up a 32-6 bulge with 4:39 left before intermission. Kentucky went nearly 10 minutes without a point and over 12 minutes without a field goal during the first half, and Vanderbilt had a comfortable 41-11 lead at the break.

"The truth is you really don't dream like that," Stallings. "I didn't think we could be ahead of someone 41-11 if those guys were playing us coaches. We started hitting shots and they missed a couple of easy ones, and then the crowd got into it. It was just our night. I think we surprised them with our effort and energy in the first half."

The 11 points were a school record for the lowest total in a half by Kentucky in the shot clock era. The Wildcats committed 12 turnovers and made only 3-of-15 shots (20 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, while the Commodores were 15-of-26 (58 percent) from the floor.

"They did a fantastic job posting and we didn't move in relation to where the ball was," Gillispie said. "Everything in this game, offensively for them and defensively for us, was dictating on letting them reverse the ball, not pressuring the ball, and letting them catch it where they wanted to.

"It's one game, it's a loss, and we'll be back. We missed too many opportunities. Hopefully, we can take a step in the right direction regarding maturity and not let it bother us as much as it did tonight."

A 10-0 spurt early in the second half erased any speculation of a miraculous comeback and pushed Vanderbilt's lead to 55-14 less than four minutes into the half. The Commodores led by as many as 43 with 3:53 remaining.

Ramel Bradley had 21 points to lead the Wildcats (12-10, 6-3), who had their five-game winning streak snapped.

"I just couldn't believe that on offense we couldn't make a shot and on defense we couldn't get any stops," Bradley said. "That was embarrassing for our fans the way we represented the university."