RedHawks were brilliant, but losing was no surprise to Coles

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 9:36 AM Tuesday, November 17, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Miami University basketball coach Charlie Coles was dumbfounded by the question at the post-game press conference following his team’s 72-70 loss to the fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

The question: “How did you let that game slip away?” Or words to that effect.

Miami had led by 16 points following a 22-2 run in the first half, but Kentucky answered almost immediately with a 15-0 run and it was anybody’s game after that.

“I can’t believe you asked that,” Coles said, not joking but in real astonishment. “Let’s see, Kentucky is No. 4 in the nation, I’m hearing about four first-round draft choices here.

“I thought it was a brilliant effort,” Coles said. “(The Wildcats) started playing. They’re the Big Blue. Man, you should know that. Where are you from?”

The reporter said he was from Lexington, which brought a look of stunned disbelief from Coles, who nevertheless patched things up quickly by assuring the reporter he wasn’t angry with his question. Just surprised.

Those threes by Dodson

Darnell Dodson, Kentucky’s 6-foot-7 sophomore guard, played a huge role in sparking the Wildcats’ comeback late in the first half, and so did 6-4 freshman guard John Wall, who ended up making the game-winning shot.

Dodson hit three 3-point baskets late in the half. He finished with nine points in only 7 minutes of playing time.

Running into a Wall

UK freshman John Wall had been pulled from the game for a few minutes during Miami’s first-half surge.

“It was kind of like back in my high school days,” Wall said.

“When we got down I tried to do everything myself. Coach (John) Calipari took me over to the side and said it was just a learning experience.

“Then I took a couple minutes break and told him I was ready and that I needed my teammates, and I just made plays I should have been making from the start,” Wall said. “Then Darnell Dodson started hitting some threes and we got our confidence going.”

This and that

Miami’s previous record for most 3-points in a game was 14, set in 1989 (against Nebraska) and tied in 2000 (Marshall) and 2004 (Purdue) ... Kenny Hayes had a four-point play with 6:08 remaining to help keep the RedHawks in the game after Darius Miller had hit a 3-point basket to give Kentucky its largest lead of the second half, 57-52 ... Antonio Ballard also made some big plays, including a fastbreak basket during Miami’s 22-2 run, plus a three-point play that gave the RedHawks a 62-61 lead with 4:01 remaining. He Ballard finished with nine points.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

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