Okafor Lifts UConn Over Central Connecticut

Boxscore (.pdf)
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HARTFORD, CT (December 28, 2002) –All-America Candidates Ben Gordon (Mt. Vernon, NY) and Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) combined for 41 points to pace sixth-ranked Connecticut to an easy 93-65 victory over in-state rival Central Connecticut Saturday before a sellout crowd of 16,294 at the Hartford Civic Center.

The victory was the Huskies’ eighth straight to start the season, while the Blue Devils slip to 3-4.

UConn started quickly, bolting out to a 23-10 lead with 10:38 to play in the first half before Central inched to within eight at 29-21 with 5:44 to play in the opening 20 minutes. However, Okafor scored six straight points to key a half-ending 18-6 run as the Huskies entered the locker room safely ahead at 47-27. Okafor finished the half with 15, while Gordon chipped in with 12.

The Huskies continued to pound the ball inside in the second half, as UConn finished the game with 54 points in the paint. Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun was able to substitute freely, as all 14 Huskies saw action.

Gordon led UConn with 24 points, his fifth 20+-point scoring effort of the season. He connected on nine of 13 shooting, including a perfect three for three from three-point range. Okafor notched his seventh double-double of the season, and his eighth straight double figure rebounding effort of the season with 11 rebounds to go along with 17 points and eight blocked shots. Senior Tony Robertson (E. Providence, RI) came off the bench to score 19 points on eight of 11 shooting. The hot-shooting Huskies hit on 60% of their field goal attempts (38 of 63), their second straight game with at least 60% field-goal marksmanship.

Junior point guard Taliek Brown (Queens, NY) had a game-high eight assists.

The Blue Devils, coached by former UConn assistant Howie Dickenman, were led by Jon Popofski and Ricardo Scott, who had 18 and 16 points respectively.

The Huskies return to action on Thursday, January 2 when they host St. Bonaventure at the Civic Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00. There will be no local television for the St. Bonaventure game.

POST-GAME QUOTES

UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun

As the game got started, we showed the same kind of energy. We lacked a little focus at times but we weren’t really rusty energy-wise. And I keep saying that may be the key to this team – energy with focus. Now, we turned the ball over 20 times – I know that some of that was late, but some of that was not what we need. The one thing that this team has done and has been able to do a little better than last year’s team is take care of the basketball, and I didn’t think we did that. But, I thought we really jumped on them.

We looked like a very good basketball team. The game did get fast. The press allowed the game to get fast.

Overall, the energy of our kids was great.

It just seemed that we had good answers today.

We’re a very good basketball team, and once the game got into the full court set… There will be people that will stop us, there will be people who will be better at that, maybe, than we are. I’ll be interested to see that team, in the full court game. We can get up and down the court very well if the game is allowed to flow that way.

On CCSU

I think it’s really difficult when you build a team around the Battles kid who he had and who is no longer with the program, it’s hard – it’s really hard. We’re fortunate that we have some depth, but if you take away a Ben Gordon from us, or someone who you really rely on, and particularly when you don’t have as many other guys to get it done, it makes it very difficult. I’m sure that Howie was disappointed by the fact that we put as many points on the board as we did.

I understand his situation now and how difficult it is. They look like a banged up basketball team.

That’s not the team you’ll see later from Central Connecticut. I don’t have any questions about that.

On Okafor

Emeka was unstoppable inside. Emeka just presents so many problems. When you send 3 guys down, that leaves Ben open, that leaves someone slashing, and it just really disrupts you.

Emeka Okafor

Not yet but we are getting there. We played with a lot more energy, which was good, but we just want to play with intensity the whole way through and just not let up because we know that there are going to be games where the D is going to win the game for us.

Everybody feels comfortable, everybody is finding their role and their place on the team.

To get a win after the break is good for morale and to get our momentum going.

The guards were doing a good job of finding me. They wouldn’t waste time, they gave it to me right away and let me do my thing.

We had more size and strength in the paint…we tried to exploit their weaknesses. They got it to me in the post, I did my thing, we kicked it out to the guards and they did their thing.

Ben Gordon

On St. Bonaventure coming up next: As soon as we found out we were playing them again, everybody just had the feeling that “next year we aren’t going to let that happen again”. Last year we underestimated them, and they came out and played great and we played the exact opposite. This year we will definitely be on our toes.

It is just … that everybody is starting to gel.

Sick of games like this?: This was our last game. We were tired of it a couple of games ago, now it is time to really buckle down and get focused. You can (get a false sense of security), especially having 8 games like this. When we play the better teams there will be a wake-up-call.

It was a matter of time before our defense started to click. We were real good defensively last year, and we just wanted to get back to that point. That is something we have been working on every day in practice to accomplish.

Tony Robertson

The thing about today is we were up really big, like 40-plus, and they cut the lead down really good. We have to work on once we get up to bury teams and not let them come back at all. Besides that, I think we played really well.

On his improved play today

I haven’t been playing well the last few games – I’ve been injured, sick – and I just wanted to come out and get back into the swing of things.

Trying to prove something to your self today?

I was trying to prove to myself, the team, and everybody else. I’m just trying to help, do what I can, do what I can do.

On the pressure shooting 3s puts on the other team

They can’t leave us open. And if they pressure us too much, then we can go buy them or a guy on the inside will post up and get open for position and dump the ball inside. So if thy take away the 3 point shot, we have other options.

On the team starting to play well

I think we’re starting to get better, starting to understand that we have to play defense. This is the perfect time for us to buckle up on defense and really play good team defense because we’re getting into the tough part of the schedule.

On players knowing their role

I think that everyone pretty much knows by know what their role is after 8 games.

On the alley-oop dunk off the inbounds

It wasn’t drawn up like that, but I saw the middle so wide open I just told him to through it. No one was sanding there and by the time someone came there, it was too late.

Is there a revenge factor with St. Bonnies game?

They gave us a pretty good beating last year down here. They played a great game, but we’re definitely out for revenge. We just play our game and everything should be fine, I think.

Taliek Brown

We tried to beat them down the floor and get a lot of easy baskets. We really didn’t know what to expect from them…so we practiced everything.

Is the team staring to gel?

Everybody is starting to mature, everybody is more experienced, and everybody is starting to know their roles now.

On playing well

I’m just real comfortable with my game. And coach is just letting me go out there and play. And we’re winning so that just makes it even easier.

Most complete game defensively?

Definitely. I think we locked down real good on defense today. We let them come back a little in the second half, but I think we played fairly well on defense.

On the defense coming around & coach’s focus it

That what he’s focused on really every day in practice – defense, defense, defense. That’s what he’s always drilled to us, so we just have to come out like we do it in practice and bring it to the game.

On the St. Bonnies game

We owe them. They took away our pride last year, so we have to come out and play real hard against them.

Central Connecticut Head Coach Howie Dickenman Quotes

I was asked by two officals and one media person to call a minimum of time outs so we can get the game over quickly so we could watch the Giants and the Eagles. So I limited the time outs and we got the game over in 1:50. I think that Jim Calhoun is kind. I think he had the opportunity to beat us by more and I’ll always be appreciative of that. This was not an effort, on our part, that is something I can say was a solid one. We need to get back to the drawing board. I think we got a little bit better in the second half. We turned the ball over a lot less than in the first half. We just allowed them almost anything that they wanted to do. I’m disappointed in the intensity on our defense. That is something that we’ve done a very good job of historically. If you play a team and they shoot 60% from the floor…then we are going to have some problems beating that team. It is not like they shot jump-shot after jump-shot, it was more like lay-up after lay-up. 50-some-odd points in the paint. We did not contain very well, and we did not rotate very well and they out-hustled us as far as some rebounds are concerned.

We have 4 front court players, 3 on scholarship and one walk-on. The walk-on was our high scorer today so I’m going to have to re-evaluate our finances at Central Connecticut and maybe make some adjustments there.

Watching Connecticut on tape, and watching them in person…they are faster and quicker in person…this is a very fine basketball team that plays very unselfishly. They have a lot of the ingredients as I remember from my Connecticut days…always a solid point guard, always good solid scoring shooting wings and a big man than is better than anyone Jim had in the past…and the 4 man for Connecticut a lot of the times has been the guy who accepts his role and does a lot of the ‘grunt’ work. This is a typical UConn team that is going to get better and they play well together. They are coming more and more together.