University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
USF
Thabeet and Adrien Key Huskies Past Bulls
2/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2009
Box Score | Box Score 
HARTFORD, Conn. - Junior Hasheem Thabeet (Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania) and senior Jeff Adrien (Brookline, Mass.) combined for 30 points and 24 rebounds as top-ranked Connecticut overcame a slow offensive start to defeat South Florida, 64-50, Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 15,451 at the XL Center.
The Huskies saw their record improve to 25-2, 13-2 in BIG EAST conference play. The Bulls slip to 8-18, 3-11 in league action.
Thabeet bounced back from one of his worst offensive performances of the campaign in Monday's loss to Pittsburgh to dominate the smaller Bulls. He scored 21 points, making seven-of-10 shots from both the field and the foul line. In addition, he yanked down nine rebounds while swatting away six South Florida offerings. Adrien scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 15 caroms.
South Florida had battled back from as much as a 14-point deficit (37-23) to inch within six at 46-40 on a fastbreak dunk by Dominique Jones with 11:50 to play. At that point senior point guard A.J. Price (Amityville, N.Y.) took over. He made two free throws, and followed that up a three-pointer off of a pass from freshman point guard Kemba Walker (Bronx, N.Y.). On the Huskies' next possession, Price drilled a jumper make it a personal 7-0 run by Price Thabeet completed the 9-0 Husky run with a jumper in the lane and the Huskies were comfortably ahead for the remainder of the contest.
The Huskies struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 38 percent from the field, including 0-for-5 from three-point range. However, they held the Bulls to just 29 percent shooting before intermission, and the Huskies took a 31-20 lead to the locker room.
The Huskies shot better from the field in the second half and did a great job taking care of the ball throughout the contest. UConn committed just six turnovers, which is the second-lowest total of the season. The Huskies were able to enjoy an 11-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
Price finished with 11 points for the Huskies, sharing team-high assist honors with senior Craig Austrie (Stamford, Conn.). Stanley Robinson (Birmingham, Ala.) had an active game for the Huskies, scoring 10 points, while grabbing six rebounds (five on the offensive glass). Austrie chipped in with seven points.
Augustus Gilchrist led South Florida with 15 points, while Jones finished with 14 points. Chris Howard scored 11 and had a game-high eight assists for the Bulls.
The Huskies will now travel to Milwaukee, Wisc. to play at Marquette on Wednesday, February 25. The contest will be nationally-televised by ESPN with a 7:00 p.m. start. The contest can also be heard on the UConn Radio Network, with WTIC 1080-AM as the flagship station.
