The Daily Campus

Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Dan Gindraux Senior gaurd A.J. Price used a hot first half to score a season high 29 points in the Huskies' win over Villanova.

For the first 39 minutes of Wednesday night's match-up against No. 23 Villanova, third-ranked UConn outplayed the fired-up Wildcats squad without Hasheem Thabeet.

Thabeet was a non-factor most of the way due to foul trouble, but when it mattered, the reigning National Defensive Player of the Year came up with two game-saving rejections as UConn (18-1, 6-1 Big East) defeated Villanova (14-4, 2-3), 89-83, in front of 15,385 fans at the XL Center.

Villanova's Shane Clark drove into the paint with a chance to turn a five-point UConn lead into a one-possession game. Thabeet sent Clark's floater back, and Craig Austrie eventually recovered the ball, and converted two free throws to push UConn's lead to 83-76.

Nine seconds later, Villanova's Corey Redding flew down the lane and cocked the ball back in an attempt to dunk on Thabeet. The 7-foot-3 junior wasn't having it. He met Redding in the air, denied him and then put both arms in the air and pointed to the sky as the sold-out crowd went crazy.

"[Foul trouble] is just part of the game," Thabeet said. "I knew when I got back in my teammates needed me, and I made two big blocks."

Thabeet's numbers - 10 points, three rebounds, three blocks - were somewhat pedestrian, but senior guard A.J. Price picked up the slack. Price poured in a season-high 29 points (20 of which came in the first half) and connected on 4-of-6 3-point attempts to spark a UConn offense that was struggling to score in the post. In addition to his outside marksmanship, Price took the ball strong to the basket and finished at the rim, something he's been unable to do since tearing his right ACL in last season's opening round NCAA loss to San Diego.

"I couldn't be happier for A.J. Price," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. "When he penetrated and took full contact, it's the first time he did that in 18 games."

The Huskies, who trailed most of the first half, made a brief run to tie the game, 48-48, as both teams headed for the locker room.

UConn took the lead for good - and gained a big advantage in the momentum, according to Calhoun - at 13:58 in the second half when Jerome Dyson stole the ball near halfcourt and threw down a thunderous, one-handed dunk while he was pushed in the back by Villanova's Corey Stokes. Stokes was charged with an intentional foul and Dyson buried both free throws, which extended UConn's lead to 64-59.

Dyson, who finished the game with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals and Austrie added seven points and three clutch free throws down the stretch to round out a dominant peformance by UConn's backcourt.

"Sometimes you get so concerned about Adrien and Thabeet, but their guards really took the game over tonight," said Villanova coach Jay Wright. "A.J [Price] was terrific tonight and we just didn't have an answer for him."

Dwayne Anderson led a balanced Villanova attack with 15 points and eight rebounds. The loss drops the Wildcats under the .500 mark in the Big East play, but Calhoun insists that Villanova is one of the most difficult opponents on the Huskies' schedule.

"I know they're a Top-25 team and I know they are one of the toughest match-ups you can ever play," Calhoun said. "That was a great team win tonight."

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