Huskies Take Out Tar Heels, 86-54

[boxscore]

Storrs, CT (January 19, 2002) - Sophomore Caron Butler (Racine, WI) matched his career-high with 29 points as Connecticut routed North Carolina 86-54 before a sellout crowd of 10,027 at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

The victory, UConn's fourth in a row, improved the Huskies record to 12-3.  The Tar Heels slip to 5-10 

North Carolina jumped out to 11-2 lead in the first 4:55 before the Huskies rallied to take the lead for good at 22-20 on jumper by Taliek Brown (So., Queens, NY), which was in the middle of 11-0 UConn run.  The Huskies led at the break, 44-26, behind 49 percent shooting from the field and a huge 15-0 advantage on second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

The Huskies were never seriously challenged in the second half, leading by as many as 41 points before reserves finished the game.  UConn continued their hot shooting, connecting on 56 percent (18 of 32) in the second half, to finish at a solid 52.3 percent for the game. 

Butler connected on 12 of 18 from the field and was a perfect five for five from the foul line, before leaving the game for good with 8:48 to play.  Ben Gordon (Fr., Mt. Vernon, NY) came off the bench to add 17 points, while Tony Robertson (Jr., E. Providence, RI) had 13.  Johnnie Selvie (Sr., Flint, MI) scored 10, all in the second half.  Starting center Emeka Okafor (Fr., Houston, TX) hauled in 13 rebounds, to pace a 43-31 UConn advantage.  Brown led UConn with a game-high five assists.

Kris Lang led the Tar Heels with 15, while Jawad Williams added 14. 

The Huskies held UNC to just 33 percent shooting, and forced 15 turnovers.

UConn returns to action on Wednesday, January 23 when they return to league play against St. John's at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs.  Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.