Penney was money for Badgers

Jeff Shelman

Star Tribune

 

Published Feb 17, 2002

The scouting report on Wisconsin guard Kirk Penney is simple. Don't let him get on an offensive roll because he can score points in bunches.

If the Gophers men's basketball team didn't believe that before, they certainly do after Wisconsin's 67-62 come-from-behind victory on Saturday at Williams Arena.

The 6-5 Penney, who played for his native New Zealand in the 2000 Olympics, was the difference. He scored 27 of his game-high 30 points after halftime; he scored 14 consecutive Wisconsin points at one stretch; and he scored 13 of the Badgers' points in a 21-7 run to end the game.

"We had no answer for Penney, zone or man," Gophers coach Dan Monson said. "He kept them in the game and then won it for them at the end."

The Gophers did a good job on Penney early in the game -- he scored only three points in the first 24 minutes -- but the defense broke down in the second half.

The Gophers lost Penney several times while playing a zone defense -- including one stretch in which he made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. And once the shots started falling, Penney just kept shooting.

"He got in a rhythm," Monson said. "Then we go man, and he's a different player because he's in rhythm. We did a very poor job.

"You can't lose shooters of that caliber."

Penney said his production -- his total was the most given up to an individual by the Gophers this season -- was simply a product of the Badgers running better offense in the second half.

"We weren't as aggressive in the first half," Penney said. "We were passing it around the zone instead of penetrating.

"If we can get it inside, then we can get some good looks . . . The inside-outside game has been really effective for us."

Penney, who scored 33 this season in a victory over then-unbeaten Marquette, said he reached the point where he was "feeling confident and you know it's going in."

He also made some key plays down the stretch. After his three-pointer cut the Gophers' lead to 56-51 with 3:47 to play, Penney, who went 8-for-11 from the floor in the second half, trimmed the lead to 58-57 with a drive to the basket with 2:21 left.

Two possessions later he gave the Badgers the lead for good with a three-point play. Then he capped the victory with a layup and by making three free throws in the final 12 seconds.