STORRS, Conn. - Ben Gordon scored a career-high 37 and Emeka Okafor had 14 rebounds Wednesday night to lead No. 1 Connecticut to a 93-79 victory over Nevada and into the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.
Denham Brown had a career-high 22 points for the Huskies, who play the winner of today's Georgia Tech-Hofstra second-round game. The semifinals are Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Gordon was 12-of-20 from the field and hit all four 3-point attempts, rescuing the Huskies time and again from the stubborn Wolf Pack. With Gordon out after picking up his third foul, Nevada cut a 15-point deficit to nine on Todd Okeson's 3-pointer with three minutes to play.
Enter Gordon.
The junior coolly made a 3-pointer and the Huskies had all the breathing room they would need. Brown converted a three-point play on the Huskies' next possession to cap the scoring.
Okafor finished with 13 points and had solid help in the post from freshman Josh Boone, who finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Huskies dominated inside, out-scoring Nevada 42-28 in the paint and outrebounding the Wolf Pack 42-29.
Kirk Snyder led Nevada with 22 points, and Okeson added 16.
The Huskies struggled early, trailing by as many as seven points. The game turned after UConn coach Jim Calhoun drew a technical foul when Okafor was called for his second foul with 7:52 left in the first half. The move fired up the Huskies, who had been clinging to a two-point lead.
With Okafor on the bench the rest of the half, Gordon scored 13 in a 20-12 run.
FSU RECRUITING: Isaiah Swann of Rockville, Md., signed a national letter of intent with Florida State. Swann is rated the fifth-best shooting guard and 25th-best player in the nation by RivalHoops.com.
BAYLOR: Forward Tim Bush, who left LSU this month, is transferring to the Bears.
ILLINOIS: Coach Bruce Weber has benched two players for the first two games of the season and a third for four games for violating unspecified team rules. Junior Luther Head and redshirt freshman Aaron Spears sat out two exhibition games, so their suspensions will total four games. Freshman Richard McBride's suspension will begin with Saturday's opener against Western Illinois.
TENNESSEE: Coach Buzz Peterson's contract was extended by one year, giving him a package reportedly worth more than $900,000 a year through 2008-09.
Women
NO. 15 RUTGERS 65, MICHIGAN 50: Cappie Pondexter had 16 points to lead five players in double figures for the host Scarlet Knights in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.
