Spring Break
Huskies beat 'Cuse to a pulp
Marc Gauthier
Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: Sports
|
The fans went wild and answered, "Game day."
After 40 minutes of basketball, Hasheem Thabeet walked over to the student section and pointed to the crowd. Thabeet didn't say anything. After beating No. 22 Syracuse 63-49, he didn't have to say a thing.
In the first five minutes of play, the Huskies played against a 2-3 zone; a defense that seemed to give them trouble on the offensive end. At 15:44 things only got worse for UConn. Jerome Dyson collided with Syracuse's Andy Rautins and injured himself on the play. He had to be helped off the game and did not return to action.
With 10 minutes left to play in the first half, UConn trailed the Orange 15-19 and was still trying to find some offensive rhythm
"I think, in the first half, we did as good of a job defensively as we have done in a long time," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.
"Jim's team came in here, as we thought they might, very hungry," said coach Jim Calhoun. They did a terrific job of zone in the first half; of matching up to us."
A big part of UConn's turnaround was Thabeet's defensive play. With 4:20 left to play in the half, Thabeet came up with blocks on two straight Syracuse possessions, including a 3-on-1 fast break stop, and eventually got a defensive rebound that led to a jump ball in UConn's favor.
"We have terrific defense, anchored by the best big guy in the country, far and away," Calhoun said. "[Thabeet] is a force on any single night and can change the basketball game. I'm telling you, I think the guy who can change the game more than any other single player in America is on our team."
As the half wound down, the Huskies fought their way back from a five-point deficit at the nine-minute mark and eventually regained the lead with 32 seconds to play.
After a Syracuse timeout, Kemba Walker stole the inbound pass underneath the Huskies' basket and tipped the ball to Craig Austrie for a lay up to put UConn up 30-27.
Be the first to comment on this story