TAMPA, Fla.—
Freshman Brandon Knight scored a career-high 30 points and Josh Harrellson delivered eight of his 15 during a pivotal stretch of the second half, helping fourth-seeded Kentucky beat No. 5 seed West Virginia 71-63 in the NCAA tournament Saturday.Knight made six free throws in the final minute as the Wildcats (27-8) pulled away to advance to East regional semifinals against either No. 1 seed Ohio State or eighth-seeded George Mason. It's the second trip to the round of 16 in as many seasons under coach John Calipari.
West Virginia, which reached the Final Four a year ago by beating Kentucky in the regional final, led 41-33 after closing the opening half on a 22-7 run. But Kentucky scored the first 11 points coming out of the break and eventually wore down the Mountaineers (22-12).
