University of Connecticut Athletics
Heart-Breaking Huskies Roll To 111-64 Win
11/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, CT (November 22, 2003) – Junior guard Ben Gordon scored 27 points and top-ranked Connecticut shot a sizzling 60% (41 of 68) from the field to give head coach Jim Calhoun his 650th career win, a 111-64 victory over in-state rival Sacred Heart, Saturday at the Hartford Civic Center.
The win, UConn’s third on the young season against no losses, improves Coach Calhoun’s record against state rivals to 55-2. The Pioneers dropped their season opener.
The Huskies bolted out of the gate, making seven consecutive shots in taking an 18-5 lead just 6:04 into the contest. Sophomore guard Denham Brown scored eight and Gordon added five points to put the Huskies in control early. They shot a blistering 71% (20 of 28) from the field in the opening twenty minutes in taking a commanding 60-28 lead at intermission. They connected on nine of 12 from beyond the arc in the first half, as Gordon was four for four and Brown was three for three. Gordon is now an amazing 11 for 15 from three-point range on the campaign, 73.3%. Gordon finished the first half with 21, while Brown added 17. Brown finished with 20 points. UConn hit 12 of 21 three-pointers in the game.
Junior center Emeka Okafor was his usual solid self, scoring 23 points and plucking down a game-high 10 rebounds. It was the 31st double-double of his illustrious career. The three Huskies’ with at least twenty points was the first time since February 6, 1996 the Huskies accomplished that feat. In a 99-77 UConn win over Providence, Doron Sheffer, Ray Allen and Kirk King each scored 20 points.
The Huskies received contributions from many sources. Freshman point guard Marcus Williams had the best game of his young career, dishing out a game-high 13 assists, while freshman power forward Josh Boone, had five blocks to go along with seven rebounds. Starting point guard Taliek Brown had six points and eight assists. Sophomore power forward Hilton Armstrong had six points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
With his 27 points today, Gordon moved into 27th place on the all-time Husky scoring list passing former UConn greats Brian Fair, Caron Butler and Rod Sellers. By scoring 21 points in the first half, it was the third straight half he had scored at least 18 points.
The victory improves Coach Calhoun’s career record to a stellar 650-296. His record at Connecticut is now 402-159.
The Pioneers were paced by Omar Wellington and Maurice Bailey, who each scored 15 points.
The Huskies will return to action on Wednesday, November 26, when they venture to Madison Square Garden to play Georgia Tech in the Semifinals of the 2003 Preseason National Invitation Tournament in New York City. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
POST GAME QUOTES
UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun
We had more talent than Sacred Heart, we were bigger, stronger. I think they’re going to be better. I think they got caught up into our game…. Once we pressed them and the court looked like it opened up – but we had 14 blocked shots and probably another 10 bothers – those shots that seemed to open up weren’t opening up. Therefore, we had a great field goal percentage defense in the first half. We got the game into our pace and played the game the way we like to play, which is full court. Anytime you play full court – I don’t care if we’re playing anyone in the country – we’re very, very good. I thought we did a very good job with that.
Overall, I was happy with the performance of our kids.
On Taliek and his injury
Taliek is fighting his way through it. At halftime, I said, “That’s it.” He said, “Can you give me 5 more?” We gave him 5 more (minutes) and then he asked out….He needs to get ready for Georgia tech. He just needs rest. He wasn’t going to rest today. It’s really hard because the doctors can’t necessarily hold him out on his injury….The thing that he does so well is be explosive and he certainly wasn’t explosive today.
On Marcus Williams
He can pass the ball a little bit. He’s going to be an interesting guy for us. He has to learn how to finish plays better, stay on defense better and not make everything into such an open game. These games may look fun, but when we get down to New York City they won’t look quite the same.
On 650 wins
Jeff Hathaway might have said it best – To win 650 games you have to be, at least, pretty good, because otherwise you would be fired along the way trying to get there. I think that probably puts it into perspective. When you look at list (of coaches), all of those guys who are up in that 600-win category, heading toward 700 and that area, each one of them has done some pretty special things…I have always respected the game, I respect the guys in the game, I respect anybody who can coach anything and does it at an exceptional level. We’ve been fortunate to have the kind of teams we’ve had at Northeastern and the kind of teams we’ve had here. Sometime later on today I’ll think about it. The names that I’ve had so much respect for and idolized as a young coach – and my first time to the Final Four in LA back in 1972 – looking at those guys and now thinking about being included in the list of what they’ve accomplished…. You can’t do it without programs and schools that are committed to winning and committed to kids. You certainly can’t do it without having great players – that’s the one thing I’ve been blessed with during the whole situation, having some tremendous assistant coaches, and a lot of stability. We have a lot of stability in our program. It’s a pause point in my coaching career. If you’re known by the company you keep, I love the company. In one of those categories that I saw, the name above me was Adolph Rupp and the name below me was Henry Iba. When you see that, those are the kind of names that you like to be squeezed in with.
Emeka Okafor
Today we just went out there and did what we had to do.
On the balanced scoring
We had a good time, we shared the basketball.
It is a confidence booster. It gave us a chance to work out some things that needed improvement, like tougher D and I think we accomplished that today.
On playing so many games in a short span of time
When we are not playing a game we are practicing, so I’d rather play a game than practice, so it doesn’t bother me at all.
Ben Gordon
We needed to try and put it together a full 40 minutes on defense and offense as well. That’s something we haven’t done the 2 games before this. I thought we did a pretty good job of it tonight.
On the terrific shooting today
We got so many open shots. The main thing was we did everything the same every time, stay with our routines, and follow through.
Did you do some meditation today?
Yes, I did a little bit before the game. It seems to work, so I think I’ll stick with that before the game.
On the alley-oop
He (Marcus) is a real good passer, so most of the time you only have to do is make eye-contact and he knows what to do. You just have to have confidence in each other. I think that’s really the best kind of teamwork – an alley-oop play -- because it has to be a good pass and the guy has to go and get it. So it takes a lot of confidence in both players.
Good to see Taliek and Rashad get going
Definitely. We just want to keep those guys on the same path they’re on after today’s game…We’re happy to see them have a good performance today.
Everything was clicking today?
That’s this mission we’re on – everybody contributing and we’re all playing on the same cylinder.
Taliek Brown
How did you feel today?
I felt alright. My foot is still a little sore. It’s getting there. I think I got into a little rhythm and that really helped me out. Hopefully I can just carry on from here.
On this being Coach Calhoun’s 650th win
I didn’t even know that. Congratulations Coach Calhoun.
Denham Brown
On the variety of scorers today
It takes a lot of pressure off Emeka and Ben.
Rashad Anderson
It looked like your team couldn’t miss for a while
When everyone gets in a rhythm, it’s hard. Just like in practice, when it gets going it’s hard to miss.
Does everyone feed off each other when the team’s in a rhythm?
Without question. Once Ben’s hitting, once Denham’s hitting, everybody feeds off each other because they’re going to have to stop this guy, then the next guy’s open. Then he’s going to have to stop this guy, then the next guy’s open. So we just all feed off each other…It’s just real fun to be out there playing with other guys who can score, feeding off each other. It’s just a wonderful thing.
How much did you need a game like this?
I was praying for a game like this. I was in a 2 game slump. I think I was shooting something like 2 for 10. Coach called me into the office the other day and said, ‘we need you to score points. That’s what we brought you here to do. We need you to out here and have a good game today and get your confidence back up to where it needs to be.’ And that’s what happened.
Marcus Williams
That doesn’t mean we can let up. We should have played hard the whole game, they got a couple of buckets that they should have had. We let them get too many offensive rebounds and second shots.
In practice we worked on the help side defense and defending the pick and roll…I think we got a lot better since Wednesday.
It boosts my confidence up to go out there and try to beat better teams like this.
On a guy from LA playing at Madison Square Garden: It’s not really a big thing, we’ve got the Forum and the Staples Center. So it is just another NBA arena. I’ve never been in New York.
Josh Boone
Is it tough staying focused in a game like this?
Sometimes it is. But I don’t think it was tonight. We really just kept going and going. Coach had us in the locker room at half time and he said, ‘we have to work on playing a full 40 minutes, as opposed to just playing a half.’
I think this game was really good for us in terms of a confidence boost. I think it really shows us that if we really try we can play a full, well, almost full 40 minutes. We didn’t play the full 40 minutes tonight, but we were pretty close.
A fun game to watch?
Yes, especially with Marcus and Ben on the floor. Marcus through Ben that great alley-oop. That’s just great to see.
Sacred Heart Head Coach Dave Bike
They looked better today than they did the last two games. There is no doubt that we asked a lot of our guys to play Connecticut the first game of the year…they have a couple of games under their belt…I think that besides the opponent, you are still playing against the game. We got beat not only by Connecticut, and I’m not taking anything away from them, but we got beat by the game and how you are supposed to play the game. We didn’t play to what we’ve been practicing. More intense defense, we gave them a lot of good looks. Offensively I thought we could have done a better job…we’ve been playing I think better ball, and obviously the competition has something to do with it... there still are certain things you can do in the game and you’ve got to do better.
I said before the game…I really thought that the winner of this game had a chance for the National Championship....and I still believe that.
We also have real good speed, and I’m disappointed we didn’t use that on defense.
We came here to try to get something done, we weren’t going to hold back, we were going to play aggressive, take the shots you are supposed to take and try to make them.
You try to prepare for their press and their size…but it is not the same.
We appreciate the opportunity to play against a team like Connecticut and play in-state like that. Positives? We’ll find out the next game.
Kibwe Trim
On playing versus Okafor: It’s a good experience, it’s a challenge. If you are not up for a challenge, you should not be out on the floor.
Omar Wellington
It is just one game, and if you are a good player you can’t let one game affect the rest of your season, I don’t care who you are, so it really doesn’t do much in terms of the rest of the year. It just makes us recognize, when we go into these games, no matter who we are playing, we have to focus on playing the way we know how to play, and not let the defense dictate what we are doing….I think we let that happen today with their pressure. I think we have to recognize that as the game starts, and counter it as the game goes on.
It was pressure. It was a lot of pressure. Was it good defense, I don’t know At one point (you realize) you could go by them so easy but you didn’t realize that until you are down by 40. The pressure got us out of synch a little bit.
