Penney points UW past Gophers
2:25 AM 2/17/02
By Vic Feuerherd Wisconsin
State Journal
indentMINNEAPOLIS - Those who thought the
University of Wisconsin's recent surge toward the top of the Big Ten Conference
men's basketball standings was a fluke better think again.
indentThe Badgers rode Kirk Penney's
second-half offensive show to a 67-62 victory over Minnesota Saturday afternoon
at Williams Arena for their fourth straight victory and their second straight
road win over a team not only ahead of them in the league standings, but one
which entered the game unbeaten at home in conference play.
indentWisconsin (16-11 overall, 9-5 in the
conference) pushed aside the Gophers (14-9, 7-5) to take control of third place
in the Big Ten with games left against Iowa and Michigan at the Kohl Center,
where UW has not lost this season in Big Ten play.
indent"Two wins, two different
ways," UW coach Bo Ryan said.
indentHe was looking back at last
Wednesday's victory over league co-leader Indiana, when the Badgers maintained
the lead for most of the game and held on at the end. He also was looking at
this upset, too, one in which the Badgers overcame a 13-point deficit in the
second half and outscored the Gophers 21-7 in the final 4 minutes, 37 seconds.
indent"That's what makes me most
impressed with our guys," Ryan said.
indentThe most impressive of the
impressing lot was Penney, who single-handedly pulled the Gophers out of their
stifling zone defense by pouring in 14 straight points in the first 12 minutes
of the second half and then capped his 27-point, second-half performance by
adding 13 of UW's final 19 points.
indentPenney, who finished with 30 points despite
sitting out the final 5 minutes of the first half because of foul troubles, did
it inside, outside and all around the court. He made eight of 11 shots in the
second half, including five of seven 3-pointers. He accounted for all but 11 of
UW's 38 second-half points.
indentHe scored UW's final eight points,
with the biggest bucket coming on a left-handed layup that led to an old
fashioned three-point play with 41.4 seconds left. It gave the Badgers a 62-60
lead, one they would not lose. It started when Penney moved through the left
side of the lane without the ball and picked up a bounce pass from Mike
Wilkinson.
indent"I saw a gap and Mike made a
great pass, and the help was a little late," Penney said. "Plays like
that are not lucky plays."
indentThe final splurge was part of the
Badgers' best offense of the season as they scored 21 points on their final 10
possessions.
indentPenney's offensive explosion may be
just one example of how this UW team has grown up during the stretch run of the
conference season.
indentIn the league opener at Iowa, Penney
went on a similar second-half tear but then got off only one shot in the final
12 minutes of a loss. Then 18 days ago at Northwestern, Freddie Owens scored 16
straight points only to not see the ball in the final few minutes of a loss.
indent"When someone's that hot, you
want them to get the ball whenever they can get it," senior forward
Charlie Wills said. "He was on fire and we knew it, so we wanted him to
get it wherever we could."
indentPenney's noticed it, too. "When
you hit a few, you want to keep trying to help the team and trying to make the
shots," the junior said. "The guys did a great job of getting me
open."
indentPenney delivered when the Badgers
need it most.
indentMinnesota outscored UW 19-4 in the
final 6:15 of the first half on the way to a 34-29 halftime lead. Gophers coach
Dan Monson moved to a zone midway though the period, and UW missed 10 of 13
shots against it. The Badgers did not score a field goal for the final 6:33 of
the first half and the first 2 minutes of the second.
indentBut that was when Penney found the
range. Monson eventually made the call to get out of the zone with 7 minutes to
go after Penney's 14 straight points, which included four 3-pointers. Later,
Monson regretted it.
indent"Maybe we should have stayed in
the zone," said Monson, whose team's postseason hopes took a big hit with
the loss. "We started in the man and they lit us up. We ended in a man,
and they lit us up."
indentPenney carried the flame. "We had
no answer for Penney, zone or man," Monson said. "He kept them in the
game."
indentAs a result, the Badgers are on the
threshold of a meaningful season.
indent"To come in and win against two
teams that are above you in the standings, that's terrific," Penney said.
"We're in a nice position. But we cannot be content."