University of Connecticut Athletics
Top-Ranked UConn Edged by No. 4 Villanova
2/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (February 13, 2006)— Allen Ray scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as fourth-ranked Villanova rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to defeat top-ranked Connecticut, 69-64, Monday evening.
The loss stops Connecticut’s 11-game winning streak and sends its overall record to 22-2 overall and 9-2 in the BIG EAST. The Wildcats improve to 20-2 on the season, and 10-1 in the conference.
Villanova led 66-56 with 3:58 to play, but the Huskies rallied to within 67-64 after Marcus Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.) hit a short runner in the lane with 31.8 seconds to play. After Villanova’s Mike Nardi missed the front-end of a one-and-one, the Huskies had a chance to tie but Ray picked up a loose ball, was fouled and salted away the game with two free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining.
Sophomore Rudy Gay (Baltimore, Md.) led the Huskies with 19 points on the night, also grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior Rashad Anderson (Lakeland, Fla.) added 12 points off the bench. Williams also had a dozen points, and tied with teammate Craig Austrie (Stamford, Conn.) for game-best assist honors with five.
Anderson also hit four three-pointers in the game and became the all-time career leader in UConn history with 249, passing Ben Gordon with 246 career three-pointers.
The game was played in front of a crowd of 20,859 at the Wachovia Center. That attendance figure set a new record for the largest crowd to see a college basketball game in the state of Pennsylvania.
The Huskies enjoyed a 41-34 rebounding advantage, as Hilton Armstrong (nine points, five blocks) (Peekskill, N.Y.) backed up Gay with nine caroms.
UConn strung together a 15-0 run over the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to open up a 12-point lead, 45-33. Villanova missed eight straight shots during the Husky run. The Wildcats responded with a 22-4 run over the next seven minutes to retake the lead at 55-49 with 9:19 to play. Villanova made their final seven three-point attempts in the contest, after starting 2-for-12.
The Huskies trailed at the half for only the third time this season, as the Wildcats held a 33-32 advantage at the break. The Wildcats came out shooting well, led by Lowry, and led by as many as six points in the early going. The Huskies turned a 13-7 deficit into a 21-15 lead thanks to a 14-2 run over a six-minute span of play.
Foul trouble hurt the Huskies with juniors Boone and Williams each missing a significant block of time due to picking up a pair of fouls. Anderson had nine points at the half, while Gay scored seven in the first. Lowry led all players in the first half with 16 points.
UConn returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it travels to West Virginia University for a 3:45 p.m. nationally televised contest on CBS.
