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On the money

Penney, Kelley lift Badgers past Gophers

By MARK STEWART of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Feb. 21, 2001

Madison - The fear of playing against a guy like Kirk Penney is that no matter how cold he gets, no matter how few shots he takes, he could go off at any moment.

And the fear of playing against someone like Mike Kelley is that no matter how bad the injury, no matter how much the pain, the senior guard will play and inspire his teammates.

Wisconsin should be glad both are on their side.

Penney, a sophomore guard, continued his hot February Wednesday night, making 5 three-pointers and scoring 21 points in a 64-54 Wisconsin victory over Minnesota in front of a sellout crowd of 17,142 at the Kohl Center.

And Kelley, who badly sprained his ankle on Monday, played 29 minutes anyway. He finished with seven points, a collegiate-high eight rebounds, three assists and no turnovers.

"That was very inspirational for me," Penney said of Kelley. "We all saw him go down. We saw how much pain he was in in practice and for him to come out and start the game, it was something that gave us all a boost."

Together, they led the Badgers from an early 14-point deficit to win for the 12th time in 13 home games and enhance their NCAA tournament hopes.

The Badgers, ranked No. 19 by the Associated Press and No. 17 in the USA Today/ESPN poll, improved to 17-7, 8-5 in the Big Ten. They are tied for third place with Ohio State, which plays host to first-place Illinois tonight.

The game was the second of a four-game NCAA suspension for Ricky Bower.

If history is an indication, the victory makes Wisconsin a good bet to reach the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. The past two seasons Big Ten teams that have finished .500 or better in the league have received a tournament invitation.

"I thought this was a critical game for the rest of our season," UW acting coach Brad Soderberg said.

Gophers depleted

The Gophers, who are down to seven scholarship players after season-ending injuries to John-Blair Bickerstaff (broken leg) and Michael Bauer (broken forearm) appear headed for the National Invitation Tournament at best. The loss dropped them to 17-10 and 5-9 in the conference with two games to play.

Golden Gophers senior guard Terrance Simmons led all scorers with 23 points, but after a sizzling start during the first 81/2 minutes, he and his teammates made 11 of 41 shots (26.8%) the rest of the way, including 4 of 16 (25%) from three-point range.

"I think we ran out of gas offensively," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "I think we got worn down and stood a lot after that. We had 23 points in 8 or 9 minutes and then 28 (actually 31) the rest of the way."

Penney, who is averaging 16.3 points per game this month, made seven of 11 shots, five of nine from three-point range. Senior guard Roy Boone added 12 points.

Wisconsin, which trailed, 23-9, with 11 minutes 46 seconds left in the first half, opened up a 50-40 lead with a 12-4 run over a 4-minute stretch midway through the second.

Sudden barrage

Penney, who had gone scoreless since a four-minute, 14-point outburst in the first half, scored five in a row, first penetrating the lane for a 10-footer and then taking advantage of a screen from Mark Vershaw for an open look at another three-pointer.

"When I went to Auckland (New Zealand) when we were recruiting him, I saw him score 30 and 33 in the two of the three games and that was with the international (three-point) line," Soderberg said. "When I saw that I knew that if he just came here and could knock down some shots, he would be valuable."

Just as they did when they lost to Minnesota on Jan. 6, the Badgers dug themselves a hole in the first half.

Penney dug them out, scoring his 14 first-half points during a 4-minute span during the final 10 minutes of a 21-3 run that gave Wisconsin a 27-26 lead at the 5:08 mark.

 

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Feb. 22, 2001.