Sat, Nov 07 2009
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Published March 22, 2008 12:19 pm - TAMPA, Fla. — It was the shot of his life, the shot of the tournament and maybe even one for the ages. “It kind of worked out good,” Ty Rogers said, in the understatement of the day. TOPPER SHOCKER! By FRED GOODALL Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. — It was the shot of his life, the shot of the tournament and maybe even one for the ages.
“It kind of worked out good,” Ty Rogers said, in the understatement of the day. Rogers hit a desperation 26-foot 3-pointer with three defenders in his face and no time on the clock, and 12th-seeded Western Kentucky turned in the upset of the NCAA tournament, beating Drake 101-99 in overtime Friday in the first round of the West Regional. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs (28-5) overcame a 16-point deficit in the final 8 minutes of regulation and led 99-98 after Jonathan Cox’s two free throws with 5.7 seconds to play. But Tyrone Brazelton raced across midcourt and kicked it to Rogers, whose 3 from the wing gave the Hilltoppers (28-6) their first tournament victory since 1995. “I think what you just saw out there is why this is the greatest show on earth,” Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn said. “I can’t say enough about Drake. Unbelievable character, toughness, heart. They played so hard. They countered everything. What a great team.” Brazelton finished with a career-high 33 points for the Hilltoppers, delivering nearly every big shot they needed until finding Rogers camped out well beyond the 3-point arc for the game winner. “We tried to slow down the ballhandler as much as possible,” Drake’s Adam Emmenecker said. “I thought we played pretty good defense. He pitched the ball back to a guy shooting from 26 feet or whatever it was. He just stepped up and made a big play ... not much else we could have done.” Cox had a career-high 29 points and 16 rebounds for Drake, which was making its first tournament appearance since 1971. Rogers’ final shot was the 30th successful 3-pointer of the game, breaking the previous NCAA mark set by West Virginia and Louisville two years ago. Western Kentucky and Drake combined for 70 3-point attempts, also breaking the previous record of 66 set by UCLA and Cincinnati in 2002. Rogers danced his way back to the other end of the floor, where he was mobbed by teammates across from the dejected Drake bench. The celebration moved back to the other end, where the senior reserve pounded his chest before the Hilltopper faithful. Brazelton said the winning play was designed to get the ball to the rim — since the Hilltoppers only trailed by one. But coming out of the timeout, Rogers told Brazelton he had a slightly different plan in mind. “He said, ’Don’t be afraid to kick it to me,”’ Brazelton said. And he wasn’t. Brazelton crossed halfcourt, zigged to his right and threw a perfect pass right to Rogers’ hands. “At one point today, I thought everything was going well and we had all the momentum in that overtime,” Drake coach Keno Davis said. 
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