UConn Men Come Out Victorious In A Grueling Game Against Cincinnati


Connecticut guard Sam Cassell Jr. (10) finds himself under Connecticut center Amida Brimah (35) and Cincinnati forward Quadri Moore (0) at the XL Center Saturday.

By Dom Amore

UConn defeats Cincinnati 62-56 in a grueling game defensive-minded game.

HARTFORD – As expected, UConn and Cincinnati played grueling, defensive-minded basketball on Saturday.

And the Huskies put in a few more shots down the stretch, got just enough rebounds and locked up a 62-56 victory before more than 15,000 at the XL Center.

Ryan Boatright scored 18 points, hitting two free throws with 39 seconds, and two more with 22 seconds left to UConn up nine and the game out of reach. Omar Calhoun scored 12, hitting a big three to put UConn in control with 5 minutes to go, and Rodney Purvis scored 11, hitting a couple of threes early in the second half as the Huskies came from behind.

Troy Caupain led Cincinnati (11-4, 2-1 in the American Conferene) with 15 points.

The Huskies (9-5, 2-1) have won three in a row, four of the last five. Now they have two road games, at Tulsa and Stanford next week, and a chance to continue their turn-around.

The first half was typical UConn-Cincinnati basketball, lots of turnovers, 17 combined, with little offensive rhythm on either side. The Huskies did put together a 10-2 spurt to take a 14-9 lead early on, but the lead and momentum quickly dissipated.

Troy Caupain scored 10 points in the half, and the Bearcats opened up their biggest lead of the half, 34-28, when Coreontae DeBerry hit two free throws with 54 seconds to go. Cincinnati was poised to take a shot at the buzzer when UConn’s Ryan Boatright stole the ball from Farad Cobb and went in for the layup. So the Huskies went into the half with some momentum, but trailing 34-30.

Rodney Purvis started the second half with a three-pointer, and the Huskies were back within one. Next time down the floor, Boatright hit a three, which tied the game at 36.

The game continued to move back and forth, but Daniel Hamilton scored to give UConn a 42-40 lead with 13:30 to go.

Turnovers continued to plague both teams, and UConn’s “rim protector,” Amida Brimah got into foul trouble, drawing his fourth with 5:57 to go. But the Huskies were rebounding better than in the first half, and shooting well, and they opened a six-point, 55-49, lead on Omar Calhoun’s three-pointer with 5 minutes to play.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens...story.html

UC's four-game winning streak falls to UConn
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 1:09 p.m. EST January 10, 2015


Cincinnati Bearcats guard Farad Cobb (21) shoots. (Photo: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Cincinnati Bearcats slugged it out with reigning NCAA men's basketball champion UConn here Saturday but lost 62-56, in a brutally physical game at XL Center.

UC led 34-30 at halftime but succumbed to an intensified UConn defensive effort in the second half. After shooting 48 percent from the field in the first half, UC was held to 32 percent shooting after halftime.

UConn shot 45 percent in the first half and 48 percent in the second.

Sophomore point guard Troy Caupain led UC with 14 points. Junior forward Shaq Thomas had eight points and junior forward Octavius Ellis scored seven points.

For UConn, senior guard Ryan Boatright had 18 points, junior guard Omar Calhoun scored 12 and sophomore guard Rodney Purvis had 11.

UC drew within 55-53 on two Kevin Johnson free throws with 2:19 left but could not get closer. UConn stretched its lead to 62-53 in the closing moments before Farad Cobb hit a 3-pointer for UC with 12.5 seconds left. That ended the scoring.

The game was a bruising, hand-to-hand combat affair, especially inside. That was not unexpected, with UC ranking No. 1 in the league in defense (54.1 ppg) and UConn No. 2 (59.7 ppg).

UC blocked 10 shots and UConn six. As the second half progressed, UC had stretches where it had difficulty just getting shots offensively. Included was one shot-clock violation and several near misses.

UC (11-4, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) had a four-game winning streak snapped.

UConn (9-5, 2-1 AAC) has won three straight games and five of six.

UC fell to 4-2 under interim head coach Larry Davis. Davis is filling in for head coach Mick Cronin, who will not coach UC practices or games for the rest of the season for medical reasons.

Cronin's father, Hep Cronin, said Mick watched Saturday's game on TV at his home in Cincinnati. Hep Cronin continues to travel with the Bearcats and watched Saturday's game from behind the UC bench, per usual.

"He's doing well," Hep Cronin said, speaking of Mick before Saturday's game. "He's figured out that yelling at the TV doesn't do any good. You can sit and be more analytical, take notes and things like that."

Mick Cronin is sidelined with a non-life threatening vascular condition known as arterial dissection. Cronin continues to work with the Bearcats behind the scenes, including game planning and recruiting.

UConn now leads the series 10-6 overall, including 3-0 in games played at Hartford. The series is tied 2-2 in Storrs.

UC's last road win in the series came Jan. 18, 2012, when Sean Kilpatrick hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to give UC a 70-67 win in Storrs.

The Bearcats led 34-30 at halftime, after leading by as much as six points. Earlier, UC trailed by as much as five points in the first half.

Caupain led UC with 10 first-half point and Thomas had eight.

UC entered the game with a 9-0 record this season when leading at halftime.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../21471097/