Kentucky takes Las Vegas Invitational crown

Associated Press

Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks (23) reacts after being named the Las Vegas Invitational MVP after the Wildcats’ 54-43 victory over West Virginia at the Orleans Arena on Nov. 29.

By Brett Okamoto (contact)

Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

The Kentucky Wildcats were in desperate need of leadership Saturday as they trailed West Virginia by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, mostly due to 23 turnovers. They got that leadership from an unlikely source.

One day after freshman DeAndre Liggins refused to re-enter the game because he felt he wasn’t receiving enough playing time, the point guard was the steady influence the Wildcats needed in a 54-43 comeback win in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game.

Liggins was given a second chance by his teammates, as Wildcats coach Billy Gillispie allowed the team to vote on the punishment for the former Findlay College Prep player's insubordination.

“I wasn’t going to penalize the team for it,” Gillispie said. “I asked them about it and they wanted to play this game with our normal rotation. DeAndre is a competitive player, he wants to be out there as much as he can. I don’t have a problem with guys wanting to be competitive, but I think he could have handled it better. He was fantastic tonight and we’ve moved on.”

While Liggins didn’t light up the scoresheet, he was the clear catalyst behind the Wildcats’ turnaround. He smothered the Mountaineers’ ballhandlers on defense and calmed the team down enough on offense to regain its stride. And with 27 overall minutes, including 19 in the second half, playing time wasn’t an issue.

“If you were watching the game there’s no question he was the X-factor out there,” sophomore Patrick Patterson said. “The team talked with him about what he did and he took it positively. He was exciting to play with tonight.”

After scoring only 16 points in the first half the Wildcats stole the momentum after halftime and never gave it back, finishing the game on a 13-3 run. Patterson gave the team its first lead of the night with a pair of free throws at the 9:04 mark and it never trailed again.

Sophomore Josh Harrellson was a big contributor off the bench, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I got it in my head that I would be the best player on the court tonight,” Harrellson said. “I put my head to it and I did it.”

The Wildcats got more than a little help from their opponents as the Mountaineers fell apart throughout the second half. After shooting 33.3 percent from the field in the first half, West Virginia shot 26.3 percent and committed 10 turnovers in the second.

“It’s the first time this season where we’ve really been tested and obviously we didn’t respond well,” said coach Bob Huggins. “If we make a few shots, it’s not even close. I’m upset, but we’ll fix it.”

While West Virginia will look to grow from the game, Kentucky has much to take away from Las Vegas.

“I think the main thing was that it was a really good team win for us,” Gillispie said. “Especially coming from behind in the second half and them having all the momentum. I think we grew up a lot this weekend.”