Kentucky Rolls Past LSU With 86-Point Half

No. 2 Kentucky set a school record with 86 points in the first half and finished with the highest-scoring road game in its 93-year history, a 129-97 Southeastern Conference victory Tuesday night over Louisiana State at Baton Rouge, La.

Forward Antoine Walker scored 28 of his game-high 32 points in the first half as Kentucky took an 86-42 lead at halftime. It was 13th highest-scoring half in Division I history, with the record being 97 by Oklahoma against U.S. International in 1989. The Wildcats’ previous high for a half was 75 in a 143-66 victory over Georgia in 1956.

Kentucky, 14-1 overall and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference, led, 15-2, 2 1/2 minutes into the game and made it 32-12 four minutes later. The Wildcats shot 67% from the field and forced LSU (9-6, 2-2) into most of its 31 turnovers in the half.

Walker finished with 16-of-20 shooting from the field and five other players scored in double figures for the Wildcats.

The victory was Kentucky’s 13th in a row, the longest streak under Coach Rick Pitino.

LSU has lost its last three games to Kentucky by a total of 79 points, including a defeat two years ago when the Tigers blew a 31-point lead. Kentucky has twice scored 121 points against LSU at Baton Rouge.

West Virginia 90, No. 12 Syracuse 78--The Mountaineers (6-7, 1-5), who had blown big leads in home-court losses to nationally ranked Georgetown and Villanova this season, didn’t let this one get away at Morgantown, W. Va.

Syracuse (13-3, 4-2) had cut West Virginia’s biggest lead of the game, 74-60 with 5:21 left, to five at 1:38 but couldn’t get any closer.

The Orangemen struggled with the Mountaineer press, making 25 turnovers, and also shot poorly from the field (38%).

Center Gordon Malone had 22 points for West Virginia. Syracuse forward John Wallace had a season-high 33 points.

No. 17 Purdue 74, Indiana 69--Boilermaker Coach Gene Keady returned in the morning from his father’s funeral in California for the Big Ten Conference game at West Lafayette, Ind.

Keady’s father died Friday, two days after his stepdaughter was seriously injured in a fall at her home. She is in a coma.

“I have a tremendous amount of family support, not only at home, but here [in Mackey Arena] and I really appreciate it,” Keady said.

Purdue (14-2, 4-0) won its 10th game in a row despite making only 22 of 42 free throws and getting a combined 11 points from its top two scorers, guard Chad Austin and center Brad Miller.

Forwards Brandon Brantley and Herb Dove picked up the scoring slack with career highs of 24 and 17 points, respectively. Brantley made 10 of 14 shots from the field and had a game-high 11 rebounds.

Indiana (10-7, 3-2) cut a 13-point deficit midway in the second half to three points at 72-69, with 21 seconds left, but guard Chad Austin managed a rare Purdue feat--making two free throws--for the game’s final points.

College Basketball Notes

Central Michigan Coach Leonard Drake finalized the suspensions of four players for a locker room fight after an 81-76 loss Saturday to Eastern Michigan. On Sunday, Drake suspended forward Ryan Holmes indefinitely for hitting center Mike Walker and breaking his jaw. On Tuesday, Drake said Holmes and Walker would be off the team for the season and starting guards Vince Edwards and Thomas Kilgore would be suspended five games. . . . Loyola Marymount forward John Anthony, who underwent an emergency appendectomy last week, will be out for the season. Anthony, a junior, had been bothered by a sore knee and played in only seven games, averaging 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds. . . . New Mexico State point guard Shawn Harrington will be sidelined the rest of the season because of a knee injury.