No. 10 Kentucky gets defensive in win over Vandy

Posted 7:02AM on Thursday 14th February 2002 ( 23 years ago )

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - Struggling to score consistently, the Kentucky Wildcats again turned to their smothering defense when they needed to put an opponent away. Tayshaun Prince had 20 points, and No. 10 Kentucky held Vanderbilt to 36 percent shooting in Wednesday night's 67-59 victory over the Commodores. The Wildcats (17-6, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) shot only 39 percent themselves, but forced 17 turnovers and blocked eight shots. They are 11-1 this season when they limit opponents to less than 40 percent shooting. ``The next two weeks, we have to play defense like we did,'' said Keith Bogans, who had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. ``We also need to make some shots, but the main thing is defense.'' The victory was the second in a row for the Wildcats and fourth in five games as they try to keep pace with Florida and Georgia in the SEC's Eastern Division. Gerald Fitch and Jules Camara each added 10 points for Kentucky, which beat the Commodores for the 18th straight time. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith covets hard-nosed, pressure defense above all else. Although disappointed by his team's lackluster showing on offense, he was thrilled with its defensive intensity. ``It took us playing good defense to pull this one out because Vanderbilt did a good job controlling the tempo,'' Smith said. ``We just aren't scoring points. We were at the beginning of the season, but we haven't been lately.'' Matt Freije and Chuck Moore each scored 17 points to lead the Commodores (14-10, 4-7), who have never won at Rupp Arena in 25 games. ``They have the ability to turn it up defensively when they need to,'' Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. ``Few teams have that ability. They get offense from their defense, which is what good teams do.'' Other than on the defensive end, Kentucky's big advantage came at the foul line. The Wildcats were 23-of-32, while the Commodores went 10-of-14, and Kentucky needed just about every free throw as it kept misfiring from the field. The Wildcats went more than four minutes without scoring in the first half and made just three field goals in the final 15:24. Vanderbilt was even worse. The Commodores went scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the first half and were 7-of-22 from 3-point range. Freije and Moore combined to make just 12 of 28 shots. ``We obviously didn't shoot it very well, but our defense was strong,'' Camara said. ``Going into these last few games, we've got to become a tight circle and play like we're going into a war.'' Bogans hit consecutive jumpers, including his first of three 3-pointers, to spark a 13-0 run that gave Kentucky a 19-8 lead at the seven-minute mark. Bogans made another 3 to put the Wildcats up 44-30 with 15:20 to play. A 7-0 Vanderbilt run cut it to 44-37 with 12:22 remaining, and Moore's 3-pointer pulled the Commodores to 56-52 at the three-minute mark. They got no closer. ``We seem to be making a lot of turnovers at the wrong times, when teams are trying to come back,'' said Prince, who was 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line. ``We've got to start establishing a better inside game. When we get the ball inside, positive things happen.'' The Commodores outrebounded Kentucky 35-33 but gave up 22 points off turnovers.

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