SYRACUSE, N.Y. — John Wall saw red in nearly every corner he looked. Cornell’s loudest and largest pep rally was held at the Carrier Dome and turned the regional semifinal into an instant road game for Kentucky.
But Big Blue crashed the party of the Big Red.
Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson stopped Cornell’s captivating NCAA Tournament run, giving the top-seeded Wildcats a 62-45 victory Thursday night in the East Regional semifinals.
“It got our attention,” Wall said. “We came out here and saw all that red.”
With much of the crowd — and the country — pulling for an upset by the 12th-seeded Ivy Leaguers, Cornell (29-5) bolted to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes. But Kentucky overcame the early deficit with a swarming defense.
“I think we did a great job landing the first punch,” Cornell center Jeff Foote said. “They’re a very talented team. Their skill and talent is going to show eventually.”
Louis Dale hit a 3 that made it 40-34, and Ryan Wittman nailed another to keep it at 46-37 with 3:47 left. But Eric Bledsoe hit a short jumper with one tick left on the 35-second shot clock to push Kentucky’s lead to 12, and the Wildcats (35-2) finally put away Cornell for good from the free-throw line.
