Date story published: Sunday, March 29, 1992 PHILADELPHIA -- Kentucky got what it wished: A lead to protect against No. 1 Duke.

Only 2.1 seconds stood between UK and its rags-to-riches rise to the Final Four.

"The only way we could get beat was somebody making a great play," John Pelphrey said, "and he did."

Mr. Clutch -- aka Christian Laettner -- hit a 16-footer over two Kentucky defenders at the buzzer to give Duke a 104-103 overtime victory.

The shot capped a perfect night for Laettner: 10-for-10 from the floor and 10-for-10 from the foul line. Two of the baskets came in overtime.

Duke's All-America center scored his team's last eight points. The Blue Devils needed them all to match UK miracle for miracle.

With 2.1 seconds left in overtime, Sean Woods hit a leaning semi-hook over Laettner to give Kentucky a 103-102 lead.

"As lucky as my shot was," Laettner said, "his shot was incredible."

Impending jubilation turned to disbelief before the buzzer.

After a Duke timeout, an unguarded Grant Hill threw a baseball pass to Laettner at the opposite foul line.

Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino chose to leave Hill unguarded because of the Cats' small lineup. Big men Jamal Mashburn and Gimel Martinez had fouled out. Pelphrey and Feldhaus, at 6-foot-7, were UK's tallest defenders.

Better to play five on four with a small lineup, Pitino reasoned.

Laettner, who is 6-11, outjumped Feldhaus and Pelphrey for the ball. He had presence of mind -- born from experience -- to dribble once and square himself to the basket.

Laettner hit a jumper at the buzzer to beat Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament East Region two years ago.

"This one seemed to take a lot longer," said Laettner, who finished with 31 points. "I put a lot of thought into this one. I can't believe it's a better feeling. And it was."

The buzzer beater properly punctuated this spine-tingler.

"I'm sure I could not provide the adjectives that benefit this game," Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said in his post-game news conference. "You all do that. It was incredible. I'm a little stunned. I thank God I was part of it."

Pelphrey hit the first basket of overtime: a three-pointer that put UK ahead 96-93.

Duke point guard Bobby Hurley answered with a second-chance three-pointer. He rebounded his own miss and hit from the top of the key.

"That hurt us more than any other play," Pitino said. If Hurley had not hit, "the game probably would have been over."

Laettner's first incredible basket of overtime put Duke ahead 100-98. He hit an off-balance post-up shot between two defenders.

Mashburn, a tower of strength inside (28 points and 10 rebounds), answered with a three-point play. It gave UK a 101-100 lead with 19 seconds left.

"I knew Mashburn was really good," Krzyzewski said. "He's better. He's so good."

But Mashburn picked up his fifth foul slapping the ball from Laettner with 14 seconds left.

Laettner's two free throws put Duke ahead 102-101.

Woods answered, coming off Pelphrey's pick to "shoot a little baby hook." The high-arcing shot escaped Laettner's reach and banked off the glass and in. UK led 103-102.

An ill-fated 2.1 seconds remained.

"I called timeout, which I normally don't do," Pitino said of a stoppage with 7.8 seconds left. "I wanted the last shot to win or lose on our possession. I didn't want to give them a chance to attack."

UK finished 29-7.

Duke will take a 32-2 record into next week's Final Four in Minneapolis.

Kentucky trailed 50-45 after a surprising first half.

For the first time this season, Pitino eschewed man-to-man defense and had the Cats primarily play a 2-3 zone.

Two reasons: Stay out of foul trouble and get three bodies on the boards.

The move may have caught Duke off balance. A quick start from three-point range moved Kentucky to an early 20-12 lead.

UK hit its first three three-pointers. The hottest Cat was Pelphrey. He hit his first two shots -- both three-pointers.

Pitino called a set play for a third attempt, but Pelphrey whipped a pass to Mashburn for another three-pointer.

Not everything went well. Pelphrey picked up his second foul at the 16:54 mark and went to the bench.

With him seemed to go UK's momentum.

Duke tied it in 81 seconds. The Blue Devils' strengths in rebounding, three-point shooting and especially fast-break basketball did the trick.

The second half brought more fouls and a growing deficit for Kentucky.

A 45-second stretch midway through the half proved disastrous.

After a television timeout with 11:53 left, the Cats lost possession when Martinez was called for setting an illegal screen on an inbounds play. It was his fifth and 11:52 remained.

Hurley's three-pointer over Travis Ford gave Duke its first double-digit lead, 67-55. That prompted a UK timeout with 11:08 left.

Within a minute, Duke called time to regroup.

Trapped by two defenders, Woods found Dale Brown for a layup. Feldhaus stole the inbounds pass and fed Mashburn for a three-pointer.

The shot reduced the Duke lead to 67-60 and prompted a Blue Devil timeout with 10:25 left.

"Throughout the game we thought we'd make our run and just blow them out," Duke's Brian Davis said. "They kept coming back."

After the Duke timeout, Mashburn hit another three-pointer and a post-up basket. That signaled the Cats were in it till the end.

The staples of UK basketball -- the press and the three-point shot --fueled the rally.

Duke committed three straight turnovers in one stretch.

Brown and Woods hit the big bombs.

Woods' three-pointer from the top of the key tied it at 81 with 5:27 left.

Brown's three-pointer from the right corner with 2:57 put Kentucky ahead 89-87. It was the Cats' first lead since 20-17.

It remained close to the bitter end.