Published: November 29, 2008 08:08 am            

Cats edge Kansas State, 74-72

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LAS VEGAS — Jodie Meeks scored a game high of 37 points along with six rebounds and four steals to lead Kentucky over Kansas State 74-72 in the third round of the Las Vegas Invitational Friday night.

Meeks outscored Kansas State (5-1) by himself in the first half, 24-23. For the game, he went 11-of-17 from the field, 11-of-13 from the free-throw line for Kentucky (3-2), which next plays West Virginia in the championship game Saturday night at 10:30 on ESPN2.

Kansas State had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left, but Dominique Sutton lost his dribble and turned the ball over with six seconds left. Meeks was fouled with three seconds and converted two free throws.

Kentucky, which turned the ball over 31 times, built a 54-37 lead with 12:28 to go in the game, but Kansas State (5-1) went on a 22-7 run.

Also for Kentucky, Patrick Patterson added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Ramon Harris added 12 points.

Jacob Pullen led Kansas State with 20 points and five steals. Sutton added 15 points and Darren Kent had 12 for Kansas State, which plays Iowa in the third-place game on Saturday.

After Kansas State jumped to a 16-7 advantage, Kentucky went on a 14-0 run and led at halftime 37-23.

Kentucky is now 8-0 all-time in the series.



KENTUCKY (3-2) - Porter 1-2 2-2 5, Stevenson 0-2 1-2 1, Harris 3-3 6-9 12, Meeks 11-17 11-13 37, Patterson 6-7 2-5 14, Miller 1-1 3-4 5, Galloway 0-0 0-0 0, Liggins 0-0 0-0 0, Harrellson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-32 25-35 74.

KANSAS ST. (5-1) - Pullen 7-18 1-2 20, Colon 3-3 2-2 8, Clemente 5-19 0-0 11, Sutton 5-9 4-4 15, Kent 2-6 8-10 12, Brown 1-5 2-2 4, Merriewether 0-0 0-0 0, Samuels 1-4 0-1 2, Anderson 0-2 0-0 0, Herrera 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-66 17-21 72.

Halftime_Kentucky 37-23. 3-Point Goals_Kentucky 5-8 (Meeks 4-6, Porter 1-2), Kansas St. 7-21 (Pullen 5-13, Sutton 1-2, Clemente 1-3, Kent 0-1, Brown 0-2). Fouled Out_Kent, Miller, Samuels. Rebounds_Kentucky 32 (Patterson 10), Kansas St. 26 (Kent, Sutton 6). Assists_Kentucky 12 (Porter 5), Kansas St. 4 (Clemente 2). Total Fouls_Kentucky 20, Kansas St. 27. A_NA.

        

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