01-28-2016, 09:40 PM
UConn Loses To Cincinnati 58-57
UConn Men Vs. Cincinnati
Dom Amore Contact Reporter
HARTFORD – The Huskies matched Cincinnati push for shove, but in the end could not match them basket for basket.
In a grueling game so typical of this series, the Bearcats wrestled away a 58-57 victory over UConn before a packed XL Center on Thursday night.
Gary Clark scored for Cincinnati, drawing a blocking foul from Shonn Miller and making the free throw to give the Bearcats a 58-57 lead with 12.1 seconds left. The Huskies called time and drew up a play with 10.2 to go. Sterling Gibbs tried a tough shot from the lane, Miller couldn’t put in the rebound and Adams tried a desperation shot at the buzzer, which also missed. And time ran out, a dramatic, but disappointing finish for the Huskies.
Clark and Farad Cobb each scored 13 for Cincinnati. Gibbs scored 14, Miller and Adams 11 each for UConn. But in the end UConn’s shooting in the second half, 9-for-32, did the Huskies in.
UConn is 15-5, 4-3 in the American Athletic Conference, losing a chance to vault into good tournament shape. Now, they start over at Central Florida on Sunday. The Bearcats (16-6, 6-3) were only 10-fo-26 in the second half, but it was enough to overcome a seven-point UConn lead.
UConn trailed by six early, then led by seven early in the second half before Cincinnati surged back. Rodney Purvis scored on the fast break to tied the game at 50 with 8:51 to play, setting up a typically tense UConn-Cincinnati finish.
The Huskies finished the half with a hot shooting spree, but came unhinged offensively in the second half. But they were playing tough defense again, and when Purvis forced a turnover and tossed it up ahead to Sterling Gibbs for a fast-break basket. That gave UConn the lead, and the normally stoic Gibbs let out his emotion, high-fiving the fans courtside, getting the big XL crowd on its feet with 6:22 left. Gibbs, fouled on the play, hit his free throw to make it 55-53, with 6:22 to play.
The Huskies, though, had shot-clock violations on their next two possessions. The Bearcats didn’t score, either. After a fifth consecutive stop, UConn scored again on Jalen Adams drive through the lane to make it 57-53 with 1:37 left.
But Adams made a bad pass, converted into a fast-break basket by the Bearcats’ Jacob Evans III as Cincinnati ended a 6-minute scoring drought. When UConn failed on its next possession, Cincinnati got a chance to tie, or win, with 26 seconds left.
UConn was stonewalled by Cincinnati’s match-up zone defense at the outset, and was trailing 6-0 before Daniel Hamilton’s lob pass to Shonn Miller got the Huskies on the board. Phil Nolan and Kentan Facey both picked up two fouls in the opening minutes, forcing UConn to go to a small lineup, but their quickness challenged the Bearcats. Rodney Purvis scored on the break to finish a 7-0 run and give the Huskies their first lead, 9-8.
The Huskies continued to attack, but, as has been the case recently, had trouble finishing. But it opened the floor, and Sterling Gibbs took, and made, wide-open three-point goals on three consecutive possessions to give UConn a 29-27 lead. Purvis hit a three, and Miller a short runner, and UConn took a 36-31 lead to the half. After its 2-for-10 start, the Huskies made 12 of their last 18 shots in the half.
The Bearcats, though outrebounding UConn’s small lineup, turned the ball over eight times against the Huskies’ effective ball pressure. Gibbs finished the half with 11 points, Purvis with 10.
Hamilton was 0-for-4 in the half, but had five rebounds and seven assists. He finally scored on the first possession the second half to extend the UConn lead to seven. Hamilton hit a three-pointer to make it 43-36, but the Bearcats edged back after a couple of UConn misses, cutting it to two on Troy Caupain’s three and tying it at 43 on Farad Cobb’s jumper with 14:32 to play.
After Cincinnati took the lead, Nolan tied it for UConn with a tip-in. Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and put UConn back on top, 48-46, with 11 ½ left, but Cobb hit a three off a screen to restore the Bearcats to the lead. That kind of game. Nolan picked up his fourth foul with 9:56 left, so the Huskies headed down the stretch with a key to their defense on the bench.
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens...story.html
UConn Men Vs. Cincinnati
Dom Amore Contact Reporter
HARTFORD – The Huskies matched Cincinnati push for shove, but in the end could not match them basket for basket.
In a grueling game so typical of this series, the Bearcats wrestled away a 58-57 victory over UConn before a packed XL Center on Thursday night.
Gary Clark scored for Cincinnati, drawing a blocking foul from Shonn Miller and making the free throw to give the Bearcats a 58-57 lead with 12.1 seconds left. The Huskies called time and drew up a play with 10.2 to go. Sterling Gibbs tried a tough shot from the lane, Miller couldn’t put in the rebound and Adams tried a desperation shot at the buzzer, which also missed. And time ran out, a dramatic, but disappointing finish for the Huskies.
Clark and Farad Cobb each scored 13 for Cincinnati. Gibbs scored 14, Miller and Adams 11 each for UConn. But in the end UConn’s shooting in the second half, 9-for-32, did the Huskies in.
UConn is 15-5, 4-3 in the American Athletic Conference, losing a chance to vault into good tournament shape. Now, they start over at Central Florida on Sunday. The Bearcats (16-6, 6-3) were only 10-fo-26 in the second half, but it was enough to overcome a seven-point UConn lead.
UConn trailed by six early, then led by seven early in the second half before Cincinnati surged back. Rodney Purvis scored on the fast break to tied the game at 50 with 8:51 to play, setting up a typically tense UConn-Cincinnati finish.
The Huskies finished the half with a hot shooting spree, but came unhinged offensively in the second half. But they were playing tough defense again, and when Purvis forced a turnover and tossed it up ahead to Sterling Gibbs for a fast-break basket. That gave UConn the lead, and the normally stoic Gibbs let out his emotion, high-fiving the fans courtside, getting the big XL crowd on its feet with 6:22 left. Gibbs, fouled on the play, hit his free throw to make it 55-53, with 6:22 to play.
The Huskies, though, had shot-clock violations on their next two possessions. The Bearcats didn’t score, either. After a fifth consecutive stop, UConn scored again on Jalen Adams drive through the lane to make it 57-53 with 1:37 left.
But Adams made a bad pass, converted into a fast-break basket by the Bearcats’ Jacob Evans III as Cincinnati ended a 6-minute scoring drought. When UConn failed on its next possession, Cincinnati got a chance to tie, or win, with 26 seconds left.
UConn was stonewalled by Cincinnati’s match-up zone defense at the outset, and was trailing 6-0 before Daniel Hamilton’s lob pass to Shonn Miller got the Huskies on the board. Phil Nolan and Kentan Facey both picked up two fouls in the opening minutes, forcing UConn to go to a small lineup, but their quickness challenged the Bearcats. Rodney Purvis scored on the break to finish a 7-0 run and give the Huskies their first lead, 9-8.
The Huskies continued to attack, but, as has been the case recently, had trouble finishing. But it opened the floor, and Sterling Gibbs took, and made, wide-open three-point goals on three consecutive possessions to give UConn a 29-27 lead. Purvis hit a three, and Miller a short runner, and UConn took a 36-31 lead to the half. After its 2-for-10 start, the Huskies made 12 of their last 18 shots in the half.
The Bearcats, though outrebounding UConn’s small lineup, turned the ball over eight times against the Huskies’ effective ball pressure. Gibbs finished the half with 11 points, Purvis with 10.
Hamilton was 0-for-4 in the half, but had five rebounds and seven assists. He finally scored on the first possession the second half to extend the UConn lead to seven. Hamilton hit a three-pointer to make it 43-36, but the Bearcats edged back after a couple of UConn misses, cutting it to two on Troy Caupain’s three and tying it at 43 on Farad Cobb’s jumper with 14:32 to play.
After Cincinnati took the lead, Nolan tied it for UConn with a tip-in. Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and put UConn back on top, 48-46, with 11 ½ left, but Cobb hit a three off a screen to restore the Bearcats to the lead. That kind of game. Nolan picked up his fourth foul with 9:56 left, so the Huskies headed down the stretch with a key to their defense on the bench.
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens...story.html