COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Kentucky Finishes Fast, 101-84

Morehead State waited 30 years to play its second game against Kentucky.

And Thursday night at Louisville, Ky., the Eagles stayed close in their bid for an upset.

But Kentucky’s Richie Farmer made a three-point shot that started a 12-2 run in the final 2:54, lifting the No. 9 Wildcats to a 101-84 victory.

“We gave the greatest effort of our life,” said Mitch Sowards, who scored 20 points for Morehead State. “This is the kind of game that you train for and it was nice to have a chance to play UK.”

Kentucky (5-1) scored seven consecutive points to open a seemingly safe 81-64 lead on Jamal Mashburn’s three-point basket with 9:33 left.

But Morehead State (3-3), whose only previous game against Kentucky was a 71-64 loss in the 1961 NCAA tournament, fought back against its in-state opponent to trail, 89-82, when Sowards made a free throw with 3:16 left.

Farmer then made a three-point shot from the top of the key, and Gimel Martinez and Sean Woods followed with two free throws each, giving Kentucky a 96-82 lead at 1:35.

P.J. Nichols slipped inside for a layup to pull Morehead State within 12 at 1:15, but Mashburn completed the scoring with five points in the last minute to finish with 25 points.

Morehead State’s comeback was hindered when forward Brett Roberts, who came in with a 30.6-point scoring average, fouled out with 9:39 left. He finished with 19 points.

“Give Morehead a lot of credit,” Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino said. “They lost their best player and we still couldn’t put them away.”

Kentucky, which has won four consecutive games, got 18 points from John Pelphrey, 13 from Woods and 11 from Farmer.

No. 10 Utah 84, Lewis-Clark 62--Antoine Davison and Phil Dixon scored 14 point each as the Utes cruised to victory over their NAIA opponent at Salt Lake City.

Leading 44-30 at halftime, Utah (7-1) increased the margin to 56-34 with a 12-4 run.

Utah took its biggest lead, 76-50, with five minutes left on two free throws by Davison.

M’Kay McGrath scored 11 points and Thomas Wyatt had 10 for Utah.

Morris LaFavors scored 19 points for Lewis-Clark (8-3).

No. 18 Michigan 91, Eastern Michigan 77--The Wolverines tuned up for Saturday’s game against top-ranked Duke with an easy victory at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Jalen Rose scored 21 points and freshman Chris Webber added 19 against Eastern Michigan (3-4), which advanced to the final 16 of the NCAA tournament last season.

Michigan (4-0) trailed 7-6 in the first half before taking command with a 24-8 run.

The Wolverines led 44-28 at halftime and 70-45 midway through the second half.

Gonzaga 79, Idaho State 70--Jeff Brown scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs at Pocatello, Ida.

Jarrod Davis added 21 points, including three three-point baskets, for Gonzaga (5-3).

Kareem Carpenter scored 28 points for Idaho State (1-5).