Kentucky - 76 (Head Coach: Adolph Rupp) - [Ranked 1st by AP]

Player	Min	FG	FGA	FT	FTA	Reb	PF	Pts
Bennie Coffman	31	4	7	8	9	4	4	16
Sid Cohen	40	5	12	13	14	9	1	23
Johnny Cox	40	4	19	2	5	14	2	10
Bill Lickert	27	3	8	1	2	7	4	7
Don Mills	18	1	5	5	5	5	2	7
Dick Parsons	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Phil Johnson	22	2	4	2	4	13	0	6
Bobby Slusher	15	3	3	1	3	6	4	7
Totals	197	22	59	32	42	58	18	76

Illinois - 75 (Head Coach: Harry Combes) - [Unranked]

Player	Min	FG	FGA	FT	FTA	Reb	PF	Pts
John Wessels	23	3	8	5	6	8	4	11
Roger Taylor	5	0	2	0	0	1	2	0
Bruce Bunkenburg	12	0	3	2	3	1	1	2
Mannie Jackson	34	9	16	3	4	4	5	21
Louis Landt	16	3	10	0	1	3	5	6
Al Gosnell	40	5	13	1	4	8	3	11
Govoner Vaughn	37	5	15	6	8	6	2	16
Edward Perry	9	1	1	0	1	1	1	2
Vern Altenmeyer	17	1	7	0	0	7	3	2
John Easterbrook	2	2	2	0	0	0	1	4
Lee Frandsen	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	196	29	77	17	27	39	27	75

Record 18,274 See U.K. Nip Illini 76-75 for 10th Win in Row

Ring out the old,
Ring in the new-
U.K. fans will
And with a "Whew!".

Kentucky ended one of the most successful and surprising years in its fabulous basketball history with a 76-75 victory over Illinois here last night.

Sid Cohen, the Brooklyn cowboy, led the embattled Kentuckians to their 10th triumph but the Cats barely hung on to victory in a rodeo finish to a wild game.

The aptly-named Fightin' Illini almost threw the Wildcats in the last frantic 46 seconds of play before a record Freedom Hall crowd of 18,274.

Almost Collapsed

Ahead by seven points, unbeaten Kentucky almost collapsed in the face of a defiant Illinois and its all-court press in the those fading seconds.

The battling Illini cut the U.K. lead from 76-69 to 76-75 with 14 seconds left and Kentucky in possession of the ball. Swarming the Cats, the Illini seized an erratic pass. Govoner Vaughn got off a 20-foot jumping push shot at a 45-degree angle to the basket.

The ball bounced around the hoop two or three times, circled it once agonizingly and then dropped off. If the ball had gone through, though, the basket would not have counted. For, said official timer Bob Wellman, Vaughn had launched the shot after the buzzer had sounded.

Few of the howling fans at the game - a heart-pumper from the opening buzzer to the final one - could hear the game-ending sound because of the bedlam after Illinois stormed back from a 71-61 deficit with 4:40 left in the game.

With Brooklyn's Cohen, a transfer student from Kilgore Texas, Junior College, in the saddle as playmaker, defensive stalwart and producer of clutch points from the field and free throw line, error-plagued Kentucky thus finally overcame the stubborn Illini.

And Kentucky, too, ended the year of 1958 as it began it - on a suspenseful note but successfully (10-0 now) and a surprise.

The Wildcats stunned the basketball world in March of this year when , with their most mediocre team of the last decade, they won the N.C.A.A. championship before a record crowd for the tournament at Freedom Hall. Then, a final seconds field goal beat Temple in the semi-finals and U.K. erased a big Seattle lead in the title game.

Trade Punches

Last night, before the biggest crowd ever to see a single, regular-season game in the South, U.K. ended 1958 as a surprise team. For these Wildcats are young, with only one regular back from the N.C.A.A. quintet, and few observers - if any - expected them to go through December with a 10-0 record. For 1958, they are 25-3 and have won 15 straight.

Last night's crowd was a few hundred short of the N.C.A.A. record mob. At that, however, Fairgrounds Director H. Clyde Reeves estimated several thousand fans were turned away at the box office. The standing-room crowd could not be increased because of fire regulations.

Financially, the game's gross probably is a collegiate record for all tickets were sold to fans, no students attending on student cards.

The sloppy Wildcats, committing an incredible-for=them- 18 errors in the second half, finally won at the free throw line against the ball-hawking, defensively aggressive Illini. The Cats garnered just 22 field goals to the 29 of Illinois in a ball game in which the score was tied 14 times and the lead changed hands 11.

However, U.K. sank 32 of 42 free throw attempts to the 17 of 27 for Illinois, which apparently had made up its mind to foul rather than give U.K. any good shots.

The keyed-up Illini jumped off to a 2-0 lead, but Kentucky quickly grasped a 5-2 margin. From then until a field goal by the driving Cohen early in the second half the teams traded punches as both ran hard.

Led by dead-eye Mannie Jackson and Vaughn, the Illini grabbed a 10-7 lead after five minutes of play.

They pushed this to four points, their biggest bulge of the game, at 19-15 with 11:42 remaining in the half.

But the speeding Wildcats caught up and managed to go into the intermission tied at 37-37.

The erratic Cats lost the ball three straight times on errors to open the second half and trailed 40-37. Here, though, Cohen hit a spinning jump shot in the circle but the Illini countered with a field goal to make it 42-39.

Coach Adolph Rupp - who later said the Cats played their poorest game of the season - called a time out. He moved Bill Lickert to a guard and Bobby Slusher, perhaps owner of Kentucky's keenest eye, was waved in from the bench at the forward vacated by Lickert.

The move paid off, even though Lickert soon picked up his fourth personal foul and was saved on the bench until near the end.

With the count 42-39 Illinois and 17:28 remaining in the second half, Lickert pumped home a 20-footer and Cohen, with 16:44 left, hit from the circle.

This gave U.K. a 43-42 lead as the lead changed for the 11th and last time.

Slusher pushed one in from close and Lickert, banged home a 15-footer. Now U.K. led 47-42 with 15:41 remaining in the battle.

Slusher soon thereafter came through with some more vital points, and teaming with sub center Phil Johnson and forward Johnny Cox, he helped give Kentucky control of the offensive board. Here is where the Cats had been having trouble. They had been getting off just one shot, being unable to get the rebounds.

Now cruising along, U.K. sped to a 71-61 lead, with just 4:40 left in the contest.

But a valiant Illinois refused to crack, even with Cohen doing a superb defensive job on Jackson (he got 19 of his 21 points in the first half, then Cohen doing a superb defensive job on Jackson (he got 19 of his 21 points in the first half, then Cohen and also Cox were put on him and tightened up on him). And the Illini refused to fold even with star guard and leading scorer Roger Taylor on the bench with an injury he sustained in practice yesterday morning.

Whittle Away

The Illini whittled away at the U.K. lead. With 46 seconds left, John Easterbrook scored two field goals sandwiched around one of Al Gosnell as U.K. became disorganized. Came the stabbing of a poor Bennie Coffman pass and that last shot by Vaughn.

When it was over, Cohen wound up the night's leading scorer for both teams with 23 points.

U.K. hit on 22 of 59 field goal attempts for 37.3 per cent and Illinois 29 of 77 for 37.7 per cent.

The Courier Journal shows Illinois' Govoner Vaughn's (#35) last-second shot hit the rim and bounce off.

Kentucky's Don Mills (#52) flies in and slams a shot over Illinois defenders after being fouled by John Wessels (10). Also in the photo are Kentucky's Johnny Cox (under basket), Bill Lickert (44) along with Illinois players Mannie Jackson (30), Al Gosnell (33) and Govoner Vaughn (35).

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