MEN'S BASKETBALL: Huskies topple Irish
by KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
The Irish slid off their blistering late-season pace Monday as the Connecticut Huskies handed them a sound 75-59 defeat.
The Irish (19-7, 11-3 Big East) tried to pull of their usual feat of dropping behind early but soaring back to victory, but it didn't work against the Huskies (19-9, 8-7). UConn never trailed in the game, and when Notre Dame went for its late-game comeback, the homecourt Huskies were too hot to handle.
"They soundly beat us," said Irish coach Mike Brey.
Midway through the second half, Notre Dame closed to within four points on two occasions — one following a David Graves 3-pointer and the other after two free throws by Martin Ingelsby. Both times, Johnnie Selvie, who was second-half salvation for the Huskies with 12 points, answered with a basket.
The second time around, UConn kept the scoring going with a Tony Robertson pull-up shot on the drive, a Selvie hook shot, a free throw by Souleymane Wane and a rebound slam by Selvie.
"A couple big transition buckets really broke it on us," Brey said, "and we were never able to get back in it."A jumper by Selvie, who scored 10 of his 12 points during a 3 1/2 minute stretch in the second half, ended the 11-2 UConn spurt which gave the Huskies a 64-51 lead, their largest of the game. The only Irish points during that stretch came on free throws by All-American Troy Murphy, who led Notre Dame with 17.
Robertson traveled, though, on the next possession, and Notre Dame's Matt Carroll hit a long 2-pointer. Instead of allowing an Irish comeback, however, the Huskies only built on their 11-point lead.
Graves fouled UConn's Caron Butler, who made both free throws, and Notre Dame's Ryan Humphrey was called for a charge. Irish reserve Torrian Jones tapped the ball from UConn to force a turnover and get the ball back, but Humphrey missed an up-close field goal attempt.
Ingelsby was next to foul, and freshman point guard Taliek Brown knocked in both foul shots. Notre Dame failed to score the next time down the court, and UConn took advantage with a fast break. Suddenly a 64-53 UConn hold on the Irish turned into a 73-53 domination, denying Notre Dame a sixth straight road win.
Five Huskies players finished in double digits. Butler led his NCAA hopeful squad with 14, Brown put up 11, Albert Mouring had 10, Selvie scored 12 and Wane managed a season-high 13, mostly in the first half.
Murphy and Humphrey, who scored 15, had little help on the scoring end. The Huskies held Carroll to five points on 2-of-9 shooting and Graves to eight while making 3-of-9. Ingelsby also scored eight.
But beyond UConn's shooting edge — the Huskies shot 49 percent from the field — was its dominance on the glass, where it outrebounded the Irish 44-29. The edge on the boards helped the Huskies get some fast break scoring, a problem as the Irish failed to get back to guard.
"We've got to get better on transition defense," Brey said. "That was the one thing I was displeased with. We did not get back consistently on defense."The Irish shot just 39 percent from the field.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 27, 2001
