Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 11, 2002
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Ben Gordon scored 16 of his 18 in the second half as No. 9 Connecticut rallied from 25-point deficit to beat Massachusetts 59-48 Tuesday night.
The Huskies managed nine points in the first half on 4-of-26 shooting (15 percent) and trailed 30-9 at the break. UMass took advantage of the absence of UConn's leading rebounder, Emeka Okafor, who was in foul trouble early, and outscored the Huskies 20-4 in the paint.
The last time UMass held an opponent to fewer than 10 points in a half was in 1958 against Trinity, which scored eight.
Jackie Rogers had 10 of his 12 points in the first half. He hit the Minutemen's first three baskets, staking UMass to a 6-2 lead.
UConn's turnaround in the second half was a quick one. The Huskies hit six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes, getting two each from Gordon, Denham Brown and Rashad Anderson.
With Okafor back in, the Huskies began to regain their inside game. He had four of his five blocks in the second half, and his hook shot with 6:33 left gave the Huskies their first lead at 38-36.
The Huskies never trailed after that, finishing with a 21-12 run that included another 3-pointer from Gordon and 14-of-16 free-throw shooting.
NO. 12 KENTUCKY 76, TULANE 60: Keith Bogans scored 21, the fourth time this season he has topped 20, to lead the visiting Wildcats.
Bogans made all five 3-pointers as Kentucky outshot the Green Wave 55 percent to 43 percent from the field and 56 percent to 43 percent on 3-pointers. Bogans had a career-high six steals.
The Wildcats took the lead less than two minutes into the game and never trailed. Waitari Marsh led Tulane with 19 points.
NO. 15 ILLINOIS 80, E. ILLINOIS 68: Freshman Dee Brown scored 25, including 12 of the Illini's 19 when they took control early in the second half, and Brian Cook added 21 for host Illinois.
The Illini led by four early in the second half, then took advantage of six Panthers turnovers to extend their lead to 15. Brown had two 3-pointers during the surge, and he was 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and 10-of-14 overall.