Prince Has Day Fit for a King

A career-high 41 points didn’t satisfy Tayshaun Prince, who broke out of his shooting slump with authority.

While perusing the statistic sheet following Kentucky’s 87-82 victory over Tulsa in the second round of the East Regional on Saturday, Prince noted that he didn’t have a turnover in 37 minutes but had only nine rebounds.

“I should have had one more rebound,” he said. “Should have had the double-double.”

Kentucky’s lone senior starter made 14 of 21 field-goal attempts, including six of eight from three-point range.

“It got to the point where I was just shaking my head,” Tulsa guard Greg Harrington said. “We tried to find a way to stop him, but nothing worked.”

Kentucky, seeded fourth in the regional, never stopped giving Prince the ball.

“Even the bench was yelling, ‘Get the ball to Tayshaun!’” Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith said. “It was spectacular.”

The rail-thin Prince, 6 feet 9 and 215 pounds, never ran out of gas until after the game, when he showed up at the news conference eating a cookie.

“I was really hungry,” said Prince, who went to Compton Dominguez High. “I needed to get a bite of something.”

Kentucky (22-9) fought off several runs by Tulsa (27-7). Both teams were on target on three-pointers: Kentucky was 10 for 19 to compensate for shooting 44% overall; Tulsa was nine for 20.

The Wildcats led, 81-72, with 4:49 to go, but the Golden Hurricane cut the gap to two points on a three-pointer by Harrington with 57 seconds left. The lead was three after Antonio Reed’s layup 47 seconds later, but Prince clinched it with two free throws with 8.5 seconds remaining.

“If we would have gotten a lead, momentum would have switched,” Tulsa center Charlie Davis said. “Every time we hit a big shot, they answered.”

Prince, Kentucky’s leading scorer with a 16-point average, topped his previous career best of 31 points. He made seven of his first eight shots and had nine rebounds, three blocked shots and four assists.

“He hit a three that was ridiculously long,” Tulsa Coach John Phillips said. “If you make one from 25 feet, it’s your night.”

Prince ended his slump after shooting 35% in the previous seven games.

“I got some to fall,” Prince said. “Guys knew I had it going on, so they tried to get it to me as much as possible.”