COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Down by 31, Kentucky Roars Back to Beat LSU

Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino knew it was the best comeback he had ever seen.

It was even better than that.

Pitino’s 11th-ranked Wildcats pulled off the greatest comeback in college history, rallying from a 31-point deficit Tuesday night to beat Louisiana State, 99-95, In Baton Rouge, La.

That broke a record set on Dec. 30, 1950, when Duke rallied from a 56-27 halftime deficit to beat Tulane, 74-72.

“I can’t believe it,” Pitino said.

Walter McCarty hit a three-pointer with 19 seconds to play and gave the Wildcats a 96-95 lead, their first since 1-0. McCarty had 23 points for Kentucky (19-5, 8-3 Southeastern Conference), which had lost two in a row.

Freshman Ronnie Henderson scored 36 points and Clarence Ceasar added 32 for the Tigers (11-10, 5-7).

LSU missed 11 free throws in the last 12 minutes (13 for 24) while Kentucky shot almost nothing but three-pointers, sinking 12 of 23 in the second half to rally from a 68-37 deficit.

“When it went to 30, we just wanted to make it respectable and not lose our confidence,” Pitino said. “I told them during a timeout, ‘It’s not going well for us. Everything’s going well for them. . . . All you can do is show your character.’ ”

That wasn’t enough for Kentucky guard Travis Ford, who had 10 points, 12 assists and one big motivational speech.

“I pulled everyone together and I said, ‘We’re down 31 and we’re not leaving this building without a win,’ ” Ford said. “ ‘We’re going to win this game no matter what. I’ll stay here all night.’ And everyone said, ‘You’re right,’ and everyone stepped up their play.”

LSU called a timeout after McCarty’s shot, but Jamie Brandon missed a layup with less than five seconds to play. Tony Delk made one free throw and Ford added two more to give Kentucky its first victory in Baton Rouge in five tries since 1988.

LSU led, 48-32, at halftime and used an 18-0 run to take a 31-point lead before the second half was five minutes old, but Kentucky scored 24 of the next 28 points. The Wildcats cut the lead to 82-74 on McCarty’s steal underneath and dunk with 6:25 left.

Ford made it a six-point game with a scoop shot.

Jeff Brassow cut it to 91-87 with a three-pointer with 2:22 left.

Brassow hit his fourth three-pointer, this one from 22 feet with a hand in his face, to make it 93-90. Ceasar hit two more free throws to make the lead five.

Delk’s three-pointer made it 95-93 and set up McCarty’s last-minute heroics and LSU’s historic frustration.

“I coached about 200 NBA games and I’ve coached about 16 years of college and I have never, ever seen a comeback on the road like that in my life,” Pitino said. “Nothing has ever come close to this.”

Villanova 64, No. 3 Connecticut 63--Tough defense kept Villanova in the game. A gamble at the end sealed the upset victory.

With two seconds to play and the Wildcats trailing by two points at Villanova, Pa., Eric Eberz stopped outside a clear lane and sank a three-pointer.

“The whole game our defense was doing it,” said Eberz, who had 12 points and was two for eight from three-point range. “But at the end, I was almost too open and the ball just came to me. Somehow it just happened.”

UConn (21-3, 11-2 Big East) was the highest-ranked team the Wildcats (11-9, 7-6) have beaten in their nine years at duPont Pavilion.

UConn had a 42-28 rebound advantage and shot 50% in the second half but committed 22 turnovers.

“We were living on the edge,” Coach Jim Calhoun said. “These things happen when you do that.”

St. Joseph’s 81, No. 10 Massachusetts 80--Kevin Connor’s free throw with 0.2 seconds to play at Philadelphia gave St. Joseph’s an upset victory and UMass its first Atlantic 10 loss this season.

St. Joseph’s (11-11, 3-9) had lost seven in a row to Massachusetts (19-5, 10-1) by an average of 16.7 points, the Hawks’ last victory coming on Feb. 17, 1990.

Carlin Warley, who injured his neck Sunday against Rhode Island, led St. Joseph’s with 23 points. Lou Roe had 22 points for Massachusetts.

No. 14 Syracuse 79, Providence 74--Adrian Autry put back his own missed free throw with 55 seconds to play to cap a 14-point comeback for the Orangemen at home.

Syracuse (17-4, 9-4 Big East) added six consecutive free throws in the final 33 seconds to lock up its 10th home victory in a row.

Providence (12-8, 5-7) led, 52-38, with 16:41 to play before wilting.

No. 22 Marquette 55, Virginia Tech 48--Jim McIlvaine had 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks at Blacksburg, Va., as the Warriors (17-6) held Virginia Tech (13-8) without a field goal over the final 5:58.