Prince a Three-Point Popper for Wildcats in 92-79 Win

There was a sequence late in Kentucky’s 92-79 victory over Iowa in the East Regional Saturday night when the Wildcats were running time off the clock, in no great hurry to shoot.

Tayshaun Prince, engaged in a long-range shooting showdown with Iowa’s Dean Oliver, was dribbling away until there were three seconds left on the shot clock. Then he launched--and made--a three-pointer that served as an exclamation mark on a 31-point performance.

It was his sixth three-point basket of the game, matching the six that Oliver had for Iowa (23-12). And it was the longest one.

“I had to laugh when he shot that 30-footer,” Kentucky’s Saul Smith said. “He’s a tremendous player.”

The victory sent Kentucky (24-9) into Thursday’s East Regional semifinals against USC, which hung on to beat Boston College, 74-71, in the first game at Nassau Coliseum.

It seemed that every time Oliver scored a three-point basket, Prince responded with one of his own.

“My teammates try to give me the ball in spots I like best,” said Prince, a 6-foot-9 junior forward from Compton Dominguez who missed only two three-point shots. “When I make the first one, it really gets me going. The first one went down for me.”

Said Oliver, a senior guard who scored 26 points and missed only three three-point shots: “I just wanted to try and extend my career. I got some outside shots and knocked them down. But Tayshaun Prince is unreal. We just couldn’t stop him.”

Marquis Estill, inserted into the game by Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith for defensive purposes, made nine of 11 shots and had 22 points.

Jason Parker and Marvin Stone had trouble guarding Iowa’s 6-8, 245-pound Reggie Evans, who had 10 points in the first eight minutes. Evans made only three of 10 shots after the 6-9 Estill came into the game.

With the score tied at 33-33 with four minutes left in the first half, Prince and Estill combined to score nine points in a 12-0 run that proved decisive for the Wildcats.