University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Dominate Friars in Providence
2/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, RI (February 8) -- Super sophomores Ben Gordon (Mt. Vernon, NY) and Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) lifted the University of Connecticut men's basketball team to an 84-68 victory over Providence College Saturday in front of a sold out Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
With the win, UConn breaks a two game losing streak and improves to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the BIG EAST, while Providence falls to 10-10, and 3-6 in the league.
Providence got off to a good start, hitting five of its first eight field goal attempts and enjoyed a 12-5 lead with 16:50 remaining in the first half. The Friars then went stone cold, missing their next 16 field goal attempts until Shieku Kabba hit a three at the 3:50 mark. During the 13 minute Providence dry-spell, UConn was able to take a seven point advantage at 31-24. The Huskies finished the half especially strong, going on a 7-1 run over the final three minutes of the stanza to take a 41-31 advantage into the locker room.
PC was able to pull within single-digits at 44-35 with 18:10 remaining in the contest, but a three-pointer by freshman Denham Brown (Toronto, CA) in transition ignited a decisive 16-5 UConn run over the next 3:30. Senior Tony Robertson (Providence, RI) was sensational during the run, scoring seven consecutive points for the Huskies in front of his home-town crowd. UConn would not take its foot off the gas pedal as another 15-4 run gave the Huskies its largest lead of the game at 5:30 capped off by a Robertson lay-up to make the score 82-54. UConn's offensive explosion was complimented by another Providence dry-spell as the Husky defense held the Friars without a field goal over six minutes.
Gordon, who took over the point for injured Taliek Brown (Queens, NY), broke out of a shooting slump in style going 6-8 from three point range and leading all scorers with 21 points while dishing out seven assists in his new role. The Friars had nobody that could handle Okafor as he dominated underneath, pouring in 20 points on 10-14 shooting and pulling down nine rebounds. Robertson scored 16 points in the victory and Denham Brown grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
As a team, UConn shot a sizzling 65% from three point land (13-20) while UConn's defense was just as effective, holding PC to just 33% shooting from the field (19-57). Connecticut also out-rebounded Providence 44-32 on the afternoon.
Maris Laksa and Ryan Gomes each had 16 points for Providence, and Marcus Douthit added 10.
UConn returns to action on Monday, February 10th to take on Syracuse University at the Hartford Civic Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPN as part of Big Monday.
