2008-09-10T07:14:49-04:00
McGarr: Hilltoppers show what they're made of
2008-03-28T03:31:34-04:00
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2008-09-10T06:40:04-04:00
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<p><strong>Writer: Elizabeth McGarr<br />Post Time: Friday, 3:30 a.m.<br /></strong><br />If you turned the UCLA-Western Kentucky game off at halftime, you missed what turned out to be a heck of a basketball game. After surviving 16-point runs in each of their first two tournament games (against No. 5 Drake and No. 13 San Diego), the Hilltoppers went on a little run of their own. </p><p>Down 21 at the half, Western Kentucky pulled to within four points after <strong>Darren Collison</strong> fouled out with 5:39 to play. The comeback came courtesy of the Toppers' suffocating press and a 12-5 run by point guard <strong>Ty Brazelton</strong>, who scored 25 of his game-high 31 points in the second half. "He got into a little zone there," said his father, <strong>Tyrone Brazelton Sr.,</strong> who was cheering for his son from the second row of the Western Kentucky section. </p><p>And what else made the difference in the second half? "I mean, we just took a deep breath and calmed down and started playing for each other and wanted to go out and have fun," guard <strong>Courtney Lee</strong> explained after the game. </p><p>As they left the court after their 88-78 loss, the Western Kentucky players all acknowledged their towel-waving fans, who had done their best to out-yell the overwhelmingly blue-and-gold clad crowd. Even Big Red, the Western Kentucky mascot (who, it seems, has gotten as much publicity as the Cinderella Hilltoppers) blew the fans a kiss. </p><p>"They <em>played</em> UCLA," Brazelton Sr. said. "They didn't lay down and die." </p>
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