Harris leaves, but Cats finish strong

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Teams have to adjust at halftime. No one could have expected what UK had to adjust to for the second half during its 61-51 victory at Alabama on Saturday.

For the second time this season, junior Ramon Harris was sent to the hospital during a game. With UK trailing 25-19 at halftime, Harris collapsed coming out of the locker room and was taken to the DCH Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

After vomiting in the locker room and feeling short of breath, Harris collapsed into the arms of sophomore A.J. Stewart. UK head coach Billy Gillispie was unaware of the situation at the time.

“I was putting my jacket on when I heard someone yell for Eric (Fry), who is our trainer,” Gillispie said. “The people at Alabama did a fantastic job of giving him great care and an abundance of great care.”

Gillispie remained in the hallway of the locker room until the 19:06 mark of the second half.

“We didn’t really see what happened at the time,” junior Perry Stevenson said. “But we knew Ramon wanted us to go out, keep playing and get a win.”

The Cats (16-4, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) did just that, scoring 42 second-half points, led by 16 in the half from junior Jodie Meeks. Meeks finished with 27, but it was the play of Stevenson, and freshmen DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller that helped spark UK.

What most impressed Gillispie were not Liggins’ and Miller’s stats on paper, but their abilities to read the scouting report and defensive pressure.

“DeAndre and Darius were just great out there,” Gillispie said. “When you have freshmen that can come in and play great it makes you feel great.”

Despite giving up 14 offensive rebounds, Gillispie was pleased with the play of his team defensively, especially down the stretch — the Cats ended the game on a 16-6 run to seal its fate.

“We didn’t execute very well, but we did what we had to do down the stretch,” Gillispie said. “We were able to get stops and defensive rebounds, and that’s what gave us the chance to expand our lead.”

What might have been more impressive about the late-game run was that the Cats did it without sophomore Patrick Patterson, who was in foul trouble.

With Patterson on the bench, Stevenson seized the opportunity to shine, recording a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. According to Stevenson, Gillispie told him it was the best game he’s played yet at UK.

For Stevenson, the breakout performance served as a bit of vindication — for himself and for his team.

“None of us like to be underestimated,” Stevenson said. “I hate that feeling. So we have to go out and do what we need to in order to make sure we don’t get called that.”