Huskies Down Grass Roots Canada In Final Exhibition Contest

[Boxscore]

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT (November 13, 2001)-- Johnnie Selvie (Sr., Flint, MI) scored 19 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead the University of Connecticut to a 107-57 exhibition victory over Grass Roots Canada before a crowd of 13,264 at the Hartford Civic Center.

UConn took a 59-23 halftime lead on the strength of 67.6% (25 of 37) shooting from the field. Tony Robertson (Jr., East Providence, RI) led the way by scoring all of his 13 points in the first half and four assists. Selvie added 12 in the opening stanza.

Joining Selvie and Robertson in double figures for UConn were Ben Gordon (Fr., Mt. Vernon, NY) and Scott Hazelton (RFr., Reading, MA) who each had 15 points.

The Huskies, who played their exhibition finale, played without starters Justin Brown (Jr., Perth, Australia), out ill, and Taliek Brown (So., Queens, NY), out with a personal situation.   The Huskies seemed to make up for their absence.  Selvie said "I knew once Justin and Taliek went down, I'd have to step it up.  Coach (Jim Calhoun) was telling we'd need double figure rebounds.  So that's what I did."

Coach Calhoun gave his team mixed reviews.   “A game like that is difficult for our kids.  The disappointing aspects, it shows how important Taliek Brown is important to us, especially with the start we did not get off to.  As I’ve been saying all season, Johnnie invests something in playing hard.  I thought we looked listless and he did not.  Bottom line, I thought he played well.”

Gordon started at point guard and played 21 minutes in place of Taliek Brown.  He was up to the challenge.  “Playing the point at this level is completely different than at the high school level, I’m trying to adjust now to playing the point as opposed to the 2 (shooting) guard.  Controlling the team and pushing the ball, that’s our style of play.”

Caron Butler (So., Racine, WI) scored eight points in just 16 minutes of action,

UConn was able to force Grass Roots Canada into 30 turnovers, which were converted into 34 Husky points.  UConn's fast break generated 32 points to just two for Grass Roots Canada.  The Huskies finished shooting 59% from the field (41 of 69) and dominated inside, outscoring their opponent 56-24 in the paint.

Ben Gorham led Grass Roots Canada with a game-high 21 points, while Duane Dacres added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

UConn opens the 2001-2002 regular season on Monday, November 19 with a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Commodores of Vanderbilt University at the Hartford Civic Center.