By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today sports editor
ST. LOUIS — Otega Oweh was a shining star on the first day of spring.
The Kentucky senior guard connected on a half-court heave at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Wildcats to an 89-84 triumph over Santa Clara on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Oweh’s heroics came two seconds after Santa Clara’s Allen Graves sank a 3-pointer that gave the Broncos a three-point lead. With two seconds standing between staying or going home, Oweh delivered to send the Wildcats into the second round for the second straight season. Kentucky (22-13) will take on the winner of the Iowa State-Tennessee State contest on Sunday.
Oweh said the Wildcats were focused and determined down the stretch, which was the difference between winning and losing.
“I feel like that’s kind of what happened in those last couple of possessions,” he said. “We really enjoyed playing with each other, and we didn’t want the season to end yet. The game is going to give us a lot of ups and downs, and things that we can’t really control, but we just have to respond, and we’ve found a way to do so. So we’re not done playing yet.”
Kentucky Mark Pope credited his squad for not giving up when it mattered, especially after the trey by Graves.
“There was no pause, throw your hands up, feel sorry for yourself reaction from our guys,” he said. “They scrambled, got the ball and Otega raced down the floor and stopped right in front of me and as he raised up, he said, ‘that’s a bucket’ and threw it in off the glass.”
Kentucky forward Brandon Garrison, who finished with 10 points, wasn’t surprised by Oweh’s crucial bank shot.
“It’s Otega,” Garrison said. “He proved that he can make game-winners. When it went up, it looked very good, and I just knew it was going in.”
Collin Chandler said the shot by Oweh was the “longest two seconds ever of him dribbling to get some shot of.”
“For the rest of us, it was just prayers, prayers that it’s going to go in,” Chandler said. “We’re grateful it did. We’re grateful we have a few days together.”
Kam Williams agreed and praised the heroics by Oweh, taking the shot any way he could get it, even if it bounced off the backboard and through the hoop.
“I don’t think he called bank.” Williams recalled. “I mean, even if it didn’t matter, he made it. He brought us into Sunday.”
Oweh admitted he just threw up a shot to beat the buzzer and “just got it up out of my hands”
“It’s March,” he said. “I feel like that’s just what happens. It’s crazy. I just tried to get the shot up. Obviously tried to make it, but it found its way to the backboard. I’m just glad it went in.”
For Santa Clara, making its first appearance in the Big Dance in three decades, it was a different feeling.
“It was a really euphoric high, followed by a tough one to swallow,’ said Broncos coach Herb Sendek, whose squad ended the season with a 26-9 record.
RECORD SETTER
Oweh now owns the school record for most points scored in a two-year career. Oweh passed Biil Spivey, who owns the previous mark. Oweh now has scored 1,237 points in his career.
“That’s crazy. Just gotta thank God,” Oweh said. “He gets all the glory because I didn’t expect this to happen at all in these past two years. It’s been life-changing. It’s a testament to the guys that are around me. That wouldn’t have happened without them. They get me open. Just having the utmost energy for me and happy whenever I succeed. That wouldn’t have happened without my teammates last year and my teammates this year. So I’m just thankful for them.”
