The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • 37

Pro Basketball Eht Ccmrur-slournd Sunday, November 25, 2001 CPro Football C4 ScorecardLotteries C5 College Basketball C6-8 College Football C9-12 Outdoors C13 Horse Racing C14-15 Editor: Harry Bryan hbryan Phone: 582-4361 Fax: 582-7186 Roundup, C3 New York 78, Chicago 71 Washington 88, Boston 84 OT Cleveland 100, Miami 96, OT Charlotte 103, Orlando 101 Detroit 91, Memphis 84 Minnesota 99, San Antonio 94 Phoenix at Dallas Atlanta at Milwaukee New Jersey at Sacramento DOIT www.courier-journal.com Scores Line: 582-4871 'V 11 D'Amico's 1 Mi WKU rolls by Murray, 10177 toppers were spreading it next Derby party may be at track Western Kentucky's Derek Robinson, left, was fouled by Murray State's Andi Hornig on a drive to the basket in the first half. The Hilltoppers (4-0) won 101-77. ASSOCIATED PRESS Sellout crowd sees No. 21 Hilltoppers show off talents By C.L. BROWN The Courier-Journal BOWLING GREEN, Ky.

-The Western Kentucky University men's basketball team gave its first sellout crowd in nearly a decade plenty of reasons to come back in its 101-77 defeat of Murray State last night. "Absolutely, this is the most complete game we've played," coach Dennis Felton said. "It' came at a good time. Murray's going to be very tough. I felt like they were capable of beating us." Western's last sellout came when 11,424 witnessed a 71-67 double-overtime loss to New Orleans on Feb.

22, 1993. Capacity at E.A. Diddle Arena was reduced to 8,100 when its bleacher seats were removed last year in preparation for the addition of skyboxes. Before a crowd of 8,117, the No. 21-ranked Hilltoppers (4-0) displayed an array of talents that could be marked off like a grocery list.

Defense. Check. The Hilltoppers held Murray (2-1) to its season-low shooting percentage (39.7). Racers guard Justine Burdine, who was second nationally in scoring average (26 points per game), scored 23 but had a stretch of eight straight misses. Depth.

Check. Seven Hilltoppers scored in double-figures, led by Mike Wells' 16. Western players practically took turns taking over the game, with Wells scoring 12 in the first half. Patrick Sparks totaled nine of his 12 points in the second half. Murray's defense couldn't key on one scorer because the Hill arouna.

"Pretty much everybody had it," Felton said. "Everyone who went in the game had a special contribution. Perimeter shooting. Check. The Hilltoppers shot 14 of 26 from the three-point line and hit 52 percent overall.

All of Sparks' points came1 on three-pointers. Post play. Check. The Racers had outrebounded its first two opponents by an average of 19, but the Hilltoppers stopped that trend. WKU had a 41-29 re-See WESTERN Page 6, col.

1, this section ret I ft I Tony D'Amico has ridden 2,497 races at Churchill Downs. Stakes, claimers, maidens, sprints, turf, fillies, colts he's ridden them all at every distance, surface and condition. All except one. Yep, that one. The one that matters most to any rider who has tugged on silks.

The eighth race on the first Sat urday in May the Kentucky Derby. This is what D'Amico does on Kentucky Derby Day: Scrambles for as many mounts as he can Kentucky 94, Morehead State 75 get through the RICK BOZICH first four or five races. Takes a ninVlr cknurap sprints to his car and races back to his wife, Mindy, and son, Austin James, at their home in Union, Ky. "Then I boil a little shrimp, invite friends over and have a party and watch the Derby on TV," D'Amico said. HERE'S A 2002 tip for the folks on the Derby Party invitation list at the D'Amico home: Consider alternate nlans Ynnr accommodating nost won have time to boil anything.

Tony D'Amico is cooking up plans to ride in his first Derby. And as long as he's finally on track to make his Derby debut at age 46, he might as well mi WW. mane on a coit wno nas to oe considered one of the winter-book favorites. The colt who could finally keep Lumco at uiurcnm uowns all dav on Derbv Dav is Renent. And if you weren't dazzled by the way ine z-year-oia won tne Kentucky Cup Juvenile at Turfway Park on Sept.

22 or the way he closed to finish second in the Breeders' Cup juvenne at tseimont on Oct. 27, you had to be impressed by the work Repent and D'Amico did while winning the Kentucky' Jock i 4 i -5-i, If Lill'l HI 1 ll'irrliMMIillf L1IIIM HiTiliii'M Mll li I MM II II I ill -V- ey ciud yesterday at uiurchill Downs. Trapped along the rail while Cats finally break it open in second half By RUSTY HAMPTON The Courier-Journal LEXINGTON, Ky. So much for the Tayshaun Prince slump. After scoring a total of 21 points in the University of Kentucky's first two basketball games, the preseason All-American had 23 last night as the 10th-ranked Wildcats defeated Morehead State 94-75 in Rupp Arena.

As it did in last week's victory over Marshall, UK (2-1) struggled early against the undermanned Eagles (2-1) before using two big runs to open a 20-point cushion. A 13-4 run to close the first half put UK ahead 47-40. A 15-2 spurt in the first six minutes of the second half, keyed by consecutive baskets by Prince, made it 62-42, and they cruised from there. Prince had plenty of help. Keith Bogans scored 20 and tied his career high six assists.

Marquis Estill, who made his first career start at center, had 10 points, Gerald Fitch scored nine and Cliff Hawkins and Chuck Hayes had eight apiece. Marvin Stone, who had started the first two games at center, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds as the Cats overwhelmed the smaller Eagles 48-30 on the glass. UK had a season-high 25 assists and made more than half its shots (36 of 71) for the first time this season. Ricky Minard scored 23 points and Chez Marks 21 for Morehead. Prince, last season's Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, scored 12 points in UK's opening loss to Western Kentucky and had just nine against Marshall.

Asked Friday why Prince is a slow starter he shot 20 percent from three-point range in the first eight games last season coach Tubby Smith fired back with a curt reply: "If I knew, he wouldn't have started slow." Prince didn't understand the two-game slump, but he knew how to cure it: Keep shooting and attacking. See PRINCE'S Page 6, col. 3, this section siaiKing a moaest pace on tne backstretch, D'Amico cooly waited until the six-horse field moved over the sloppy track into the stretch. A HOLE opened. D'Amico saw it.

Repent filled it. Next thing you knew, the colt a son of Louis Quatorze was surging toward the wire VA lengths ahead of Request for Parole. "I was awfully happy when that hole opened," D'Amico said. Not as happy as the colt's trainer, Kenny McPeek. He is the first to believe something that no other trainer has that Tony D'Amico has the poise, strength and judgment to ride a Derby horse.

About two-fifths of a second after Repent won the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, McPeek said jockey agents started dialing his cell phone. Some colt, Kenny. Think you might need a rider who's shown he can navigate those frantic Derby fields and win the race? Like my rider? "Some are subtler than others," McPeek said. "But there's no doubt what they're talking about. They want the mount." Sure.

But who is McPeek talking about riding Repent on May 4, 2002? "TONY," McPeek said. "He's done a great job riding for me. One thing he's got going for him is he really knows my horse. That's a big advantage." "Everybody deserves a chance," said Sue McPeek, the trainer's wife. Deserves is not the word that D'Amico would use.

A chance to earn the mount is the verb that fits D'Amico's mild personality better. Earn? What more can he do to earn it? For the first time in his life D'Amico is moving to Florida for the winter. Instead of riding at Turfway Park, he will ride at Gulf-stream starting in January. Gulf-stream, site of the Florida Derby, happens to be the spot where Repent will be stabled. "To finally have a horse in the Kentucky Derby would have to be the most wonderful feeling in the world," D'Amico said.

Rick Bozich's column normally runs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in Sports. You can reach him at (502) 582-4650 or read his columns at BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL UK Tayshaun Prince (21) watched a scrap among Gerald Fitch and Morehead State's Casey Lowe, left, and Marquis Sykes. Belterra, Repent win on closing day No. 1 Georgetown breezes past Campbellsville 76-9 Also today Oklahoma State stuns Oklahoma Oklahoma State, a 27-point underdog, made sure there will be no repeat national champion by jf coming from behind to stun Oklahoma vpsferriav "T' On Churchill Downs' closing-day card yesterday, which traditionally showcases prospects for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod Stakes were Story, C9 won by horses whose daddies had been there, done that. First, Belterra, an By BRIAN DAUGHERTY Special to The Courier-Journal GEORGETOWN, Ky.

For one quarter yesterday, Campbellsville University's football team hung close against defending NAIA national champion Georgetown College. Then things got ugly. Georgetown, ranked No. 1 in NAIA, led 7-3 after one quarter, then scored 34 points in the second and went on to rout Campbellsville 76-9 in a second-round playoff game. Georgetown (13-0), now riding a 27-game winning streak, rolled up 562 yards of offense and 29 first downs.

"If we played like we did today, with the heart we did today, you're going to have some potential blowouts," Georgetown coach Bill Cronin said. His team benefited from a brisk wind at its back in the second and third quarters, when it did most of its damage. "We started out going against the wind, and that was tough, Cronin said. "Our kids hung in there, and once we got the wind and got things rolling, our defense played outstanding. Our opponent couldn move the ball and was giving us the ball in pretty good field position, and I don't think you want to do that against us." Receiver Brandon Midkiff credited quarterback Eddie Eviston, who threw for five touchdowns while playing only the first half, and the receiving corps for moving the ball.

"We've been real focused all week," he said. "We've been getting a lot of reps in practice, and it carried over into today." Campbellsville (10-4) finished with 206 See GEORGETOWN Page 12, col. 1, this section unbeaten daughter of 1990 Derbv winner Unbridled. won the $215,200 Golden Rod Stakes by 4'a lengths. An hour later, Repent a son of 1996 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze captured the Kentucky BY PAT McDONOGH, THE C-J Tony D'Amico and Repent got all the attention.

Jerry Bach (Repent) admit they have the first Friday and Saturday in May in mind for their horses. Stories, CIS Jockey Club by VA lengths. uwners Kooert Mantuso (Belterra) and Feye and www K'tinmvtuji ifM in HTFH-TiTiTiI Em.