Second-Ranked Huskies Upset By Marquette, 94-79, In BIG EAST Opener

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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (January 3, 2006) – Steve Novak scored a career and BIG EAST season-high 41 points to propel Marquette over the second-ranked University of Connecticut men’s basketball team, 94-79, Tuesday night at the Bradley Center in the conference-opener for both squads.

The loss stands as the Huskies' (11-1) first of the year, while the Golden Eagles improve to 11-3 in the school's inaugural season in the BIG EAST. 

Rashad Anderson (Lakeland, Fla.) scored a season-high 25 points, including a 6-for-13 effort from three-point range, but it was not enough to make up for the team's 38 percent showing from the field. Josh Boone (Mt. Airy, Md.) and Hilton Armstrong (Peekskill, N.Y.) joined Anderson in double figures, tallying 13 and 12 points, respectively.

UConn pulled ahead early, capitalizing on a 2-for-17 shooting performance by Marquette over the first 5:42 to pull ahead 15-8 with a three-pointer from Anderson. Driven by Novak, the Golden Eagles pulled it together, however, and went on a 12-1 run over the next five minutes to take a 20-16 advantage with 7:47 to play in the opening stanza. From there, they would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest. 

The Golden Eagles led by as many as seven points in the first period, at 31-24, with 3:57 to play, but UConn responded by scoring six straight points to cut the lead to one. Novak hit a pair of big shots, including a 30-footer, to help get the Marquette lead back to six at the intermission, despite a team shooting effort of just 33.3 percent.

UConn was hindered by an abysmal 8-for-18 performance from the free throw line in the half and also shot only 35.5 percent from the field.

Marquette came out hot to start the second half and quickly opened up a 14-point advantage, 55-41, with 14:51 left in the game. The lead grew to 17 points, 64-47, with 11:08 to play after Novak hit three free throws after being fouled shooting a three. He then followed with a three from the corner to give Marquette a 20-point lead with just over 10 minutes left to play at 67-47.

The game was the first this season for UConn junior Marcus Williams, who entered the contest with 17:21 to play in the first half. Williams missed the first 11 games of the year due to a University-imposed suspension for violation of the Student Code.

The Huskies return to action Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Louisiana State at the Hartford Civic Center. The game will be televised nationally on CBS.