Fenwick grad has long-range shooting touch

Staff and Wire Reports 2:07 AM Wednesday, February 3, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. — John Wall raised his arms, waited for the long pass from teammate Eric Bledsoe then rose up for a vicious dunk.

The heralded Kentucky freshman screamed as he landed, then added a sly little smile before racing back on defense.

Turns out all Wall needed to break out of his funk was a couple of dunks and perhaps his best all-around game in weeks.

Wall finished with 17 points and seven assists in 36 steady minutes to lead the fourth-ranked Wildcats to an 85-75 victory over No. 25 Mississippi on Tuesday night, Feb. 2, putting to rest for good rumors of a rift with coach John Calipari by playing with the ease he showcased early in the season.

“It felt great to have the fun back,” Wall said.

Wall certainly looked like he was having a good time as Kentucky (21-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) built an early double-digit lead then held off a handful of runs by the Rebels (16-6, 4-4).

DeMarcus Cousins posted his fifth straight double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Darnell Dodson added 14 points and Patrick Patterson had 12 points and six boards.

Terrico White led Mississippi with 19 points, but the Rebels missed freshman big man Reginald Buckner, who sat out with a sprained ankle.

No. 2 Villanova 81, Seton Hall 71: Corey Stokes hit two 3-pointers during the decisive run and scored all 11 of his points in the second half to lead the visiting Wildcats (20-1, 9-0 Big East).

No. 3 Syracuse 85, Providence 68: Standout reserve Kris Joseph had a career-high 23 points, and Arinze Onuaku added a season-high 20 for the visiting Orange (22-1, 9-1 Big East), who have won nine straight.

Women’s results

No. 1 UConn 80, No. 11 West Virginia 47: Kalana Greene scored 18 points to help host Connecticut overcome a sluggish first half for its 61st straight victory. The Huskies (22-0, 9-0 Big are nine wins short of the NCAA and school record of 70 straight wins.

College insider

Skip weaver

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