Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503210069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO LENGTH: Medium
The NCAA Tournament's Midwest Region will have a homecoming theme next weekend.
Top-seeded Kansas built a substantial second-half lead Saturday night, then held off Western Kentucky 75-70 in the second-round finale at Dayton Arena.
The victory moved the Jayhawks (25-5) into Friday's Sweet 16 date against Virginia (24-8) at Kemper Arena. The Kansas City, Mo., building, site of the Big Eight Conference tournament, is only a half-hour drive from the Kansas campus in Lawrence.
Although the Jayhawks will be playing in their 18th regional semifinal and their sixth in 10 years and UVa is making its seventh Sweet 16 trip in 15 seasons, Friday's game will be the first men's basketball meeting between the schools.
Kansas' advancement was assured when Western Kentucky, seeking its 25th victory in 26 games, couldn't score from outside. The taller, stronger Jayhawks had a huge inside advantage.
The Hilltoppers (27-4), champions of the Sun Belt Conference, made only one of 15 3-point shots in the first 35 minutes. They made five from beyond the arc down the stretch, but Kansas' success at the free-throw line ruined the upset hopes of the region's No.8 seed.
In the final 1:07, Kansas made 12 of 14 free throws, including eight by Jerod Haase. For the game, Kansas hit 24 of 30 free throws. The Jayhawks had only one field goal in the final two minutes.
Western Kentucky twice cut what was a double-digit lead as late as five minutes remaining to four points in the final 45 seconds. Both times it happened thanks to long 3-pointers by Michael Fraliex.
However, the Hilltoppers were 6-of-22 from beyond the arc for the game and shot 32.5 percent overall. First-year coach Matt Kilcullen's team also hurt itself with mediocre (14-of-24) shooting from the free-throw line.
``We just didn't do a good job of scoring,'' said Kilcullen, whose team lost only to Kansas, Massachusetts, Tulsa and Jacksonville this season. ``Their defense took us out of a lot of the things we wanted to do. Credit this game to the Kansas defense.''
The Jayhawks were led by forward Scot Pearson's 17 points, the game high. Kansas struggled with its ball-handling, and Western Kentucky - which had the nation's second-longest winning streak (behind UCLA) at 13 - stayed as close as it did by committing only nine turnovers.
Williams also used his team's superior depth - an advantage Kansas will have with its immense size against Virginia - to great advantage. The Hilltoppers got only five points from their bench, 17 fewer than the Jayhawks.
Kansas is 2-1 at Kemper Arena this season, beating Connecticut and Kansas State and losing to Iowa State in a Big Eight tournament semifinal in overtime.
The Jayhawks are 11-4 in NCAA Tournament history in Kansas City, including four consecutive victories. Their last NCAA triumph in that city was for the 1988 NCAA championship, over Oklahoma.
Kansas' last NCAA defeat in Kansas City was at the old Municipal Auditorium, to North Carolina in the storied triple-overtime championship game in 1957.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB