Huskies Topple No. 10 Arizona In Overtime, 100-98

(boxscore)

Tucson, AZ (January 26, 2002) – Freshman Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) scored a career-high 19 points, became the third Husky in school history to block nine or more shots in a single game and held on to the biggest rebound of the afternoon to help the No. 25 Connecticut men’s basketball team out duel No. 10 Arizona, 100-98, in an overtime thriller in Tucson on Saturday.

The game, which was UConn’s final regular-season non-conference contest, saw the Huskies come away with their sixth-straight victory to push their record to 14-3, while Arizona dropped to 13-6. This marks the fifth-straight season that UConn has faced a team from the Pac-10 that is ranked inside the top ten. UConn has won all of the meetings, with three wins over Arizona and a pair against Stanford.

"I just told them they have been involved in a tremendous game," said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. "Someone was going to be incredibly disappointed at the end of it because of all of the emotion involved. We were really excited. I waited ten minutes to go in the locker room after the game because they were off the wall. They are really enjoying what they are doing. This is another step on the ladder to believe we can beat any team in the country."

Arizona turnovers helped the Huskies gain control in the early going, and the lead stretched to a dozen midway through the first period when Tony Robertson (Jr., Providence, RI) nailed an off-balance runner to make it 22-10. However, Salim Stoudamire helped Arizona claw its way back into the game when he dropped in a three-pointer that capped an 18-5 run to bring the Wildcats to within one, 28-27.

Three pointers helped UConn keep the lead intact when Ben Gordon (Fr., Mount Vernon, NY) and Robertson each nailed a pair in the closing minutes of the half. Okafor, made it a 12-point lead for the second time on the day when he tipped the ball in to bring it to 43-31 with just over two minutes remaining. Arizona responded again though, and Channing Frye nailed a jumper just before the buzzer went off making it 43-39.

Frye had four quick points to open the second half to tie the game at 43, but UConn scored the next six points to get on top again. The Huskies held on to that for much of the second half before Luke Walton stepped to the free throw line with 7:31 remaining to tie it for the third time at 70, and Rick Anderson laid it in at the seven minute mark to put Arizona up, 72-70.

From there, the two teams battled down the stretch, which featured four lead changes and two ties, the second of which came when Butler hit a shot with 19 seconds remaining to even things at 91. Arizona had a chance to end it in regulation, but after Gardner penetrated, Okafor slapped the ball away and it rolled out of bounds after touching a Wildcat.  

The overtime period opened with Stoudamire nailing a pair of threes to give Arizona a six point lead, but the Wildcats never hit another field goal. UConn got the lead back for good when Taliek Brown (So., Queens, NY) put in back-to-back lay ups. With 10 seconds left, and the Huskies holding on to a 100-98 lead, Brown fouled Jason Gardner just before he attempted a three-pointer. Gardner missed the first and hit the second to give UConn the ball. Caron Butler (So., Racine, WI) turned the ball over on the inbounds pass to give Arizona another chance. Gardner drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Will Bynum whose three-point shot hit the rim and fell into the hands of Okafor, who was tied up with the possession arrow pointing towards UConn.

Okafor set a career high in rebounds with 15 to lead the team in the department and was just one block away from a triple-double. Donyell Marshall holds the school record with 10 blocks against Hartford on Jan. 17, 1994, while Okafor matched Clifford Robinson’s nine against Georgetown on Feb. 6, 1988. Gordon led UConn in scoring with 23 to equal his career high, while Brown did the same with 21. The 100 points scored by UConn marked the first time the Huskies have got to the century mark in an away game since a 100-90 victory at Maine during the 1975 season. 

UConn returns to BIG EAST Conference competition, but remains on the road Wednesday, Jan. 30, with a game at Rutgers. The game will be televised on WTXX-TV 20 and is set for a 7:30 p.m. start.