Huskies Tip Off 2001-02 With Exhibition Win

[Boxscore]

STORRS, CT (November 6, 2001)—Sophomore All-American candidate Caron Butler (Racine, WI) scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first half to lead the University of Connecticut to a 105-77 exhibition win over Nike Elite Tuesday. The game was the first of two exhibition contests for UConn and was played in front of a sellout crowd of 10,027 at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

"For the first time in awhile, I think our offensive is a little ahead of our defense," said head coach Jim Calhoun. "I thought our fast break was going to be key to tiring them out. We actually pressed them at one point in the second half with a zone press and we got the ball back three or four times. That's encouraging because I think that can really be a weapon for us."

Connecticut was tested in the opening period, taking the lead for good at 44-42 on a jumper by Tony Robertson (Jr., East Providence, RI) with 4:12 to play.  The Huskies shot 53 percent from the field in the first half to offset eight three-pointers by Nike Elite. Butler connected on seven of 10 from the field to pace the UConn attack in the opening half. The Huskies settled for a 50-45 halftime edge.

Connecticut blew the game open in the first 3:43 of the second half with a 14-0 run, keyed by Johnnie Selvie's (Sr., Flint, MI) nine points.  Selvie finished with 23 points on eight of 10 shooting from the field.  Butler also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to lead a 58-31 UConn advantage.

"Johnnie was really good, I've been saying (that) all preseason," Calhoun said. "I was also praying that my words would come true and that he carry over to the game the things that he does in practice, which is an incredible work ethic. He's so fast up the court, and he's got such great hands around the basket. He helped create a lot of the good fast break opportunities by sprinting the floor, which allowed someone else to be open because someone had to pick him up."

The Huskies were able to dominate inside, scoring 62 points in the paint, while shooting 53 percent (43 of 82) from the field.  Freshman Emeka Okafor  (Houston, Texas) came off the bench to score 10 points, while grabbing nine rebounds.  Sophomore Taliek Brown (Queens, NY) had eight points and dished out a game-high 10 assists, while Robertson added nine points.

Antwon Hall and Curt Smith led Nike Elite with 16 and 15 points respectively. As a team, Nike Elite hit 12 of 32 from three point range, but shot just 37 percent (27-73) from the field.

Connecticut concludes its exhibition season on Tuesday, November 13 when they host Grass Roots Canada at the Hartford Civic Center at 7:30 p.m.  The Huskies open the 2001-2002 regular season when they host Vanderbilt on Monday, November 19 at the Hartford Civic Center at 7:30 p.m.