College basketball

UConn rolls at home

By wire services
Published December 3, 2005

STORRS, Conn. - Connecticut opened its homestand at Gampel Pavilion in style.

Rudy Gay had 22 points and Josh Boone dominated inside with 12 rebounds and six blocks to lead the third-ranked Huskies (6-0) to a 113-49 win over Texas Southern on Friday night.

The Huskies' point total was just three shy of the Gampel record, set in 2002 in a 116-78 win over in-state rival Sacred Heart.

The sellout crowd of 10,167 had plenty to cheer about even before the game began. During pregame, UConn unveiled coach Jim Calhoun's Hall of Fame banner. Calhoun, inducted in September, has led UConn to a pair of NCAA titles (1999, 2004). His banner was unfurled between both title pennants to a thunderous ovation.

Boone finished with 17 points and anchored an inside game that outrebounded the Tigers 56-28 and outscored the visitors 46-18 in the paint.

NO.14 IOWA 75, FAIRFIELD 59: Greg Brunner had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the host Hawkeyes won in the opening round of the Hawkeye Challenge tournament.

NO.19 GEORGE WASHINGTON 75, BOSTON UNIVERSITY 62: The host Colonials got their big man back but barely needed him, instead riding the outside shooting of Maureece Rice and Carl Elliott past the shorthanded Terriers.

Rice scored 17 and made all three of his 3-pointers, Elliott scored 13 and hit 3 of 4 from long range, and Mike Hall added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonials, who went 11-for-22 on 3-pointers but had trouble putting away a winless team that dressed only nine players.

GW center Pops Mensah-Bonsu made an anticlimactic season debut following his three-game suspension for NCAA violations that related to his early declaration for the NBA draft. He entered to rousing cheers about three minutes into the first half, but he missed a dunk on his first shot attempt and finished with four points on 2-for-5 shooting in 21 minutes against BU's packed zone defense.

SEC

ARKANSAS 66, MISSOURI 63: Marcus Watkins' 3-pointer rolled in and out in the final seconds as the host Razorbacks held off the Tigers.

Ronnie Brewer scored 20 points for Arkansas, which blew a 14-point second-half lead.

State

ECKERD 78, SALEM INTERNATIONAL 62: Seniorguard Steve Berg poured in a career-high 27 points for the host Tritons (6-1). Junior guard Matt Cenatus added 18 points and eight rebounds.

Eckerd hit 36 of 40 free throws in the contest, which saw 60 fouls called and four Salem players foul out.

JACKSONVILLE 88, NORTH FLORIDA 71: Jesse Kimbrough scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven assists as the host Dolphins won for the first time in three games.

Rashad Williams came off the bench to score 18 points for North Florida.

Cats expect Morris back

Kentucky soon will formally apply to the NCAA to restore the eligibility of sophomore center Randolph Morris, a university spokesman said.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader , the NCAA's Legislative Review and Interpretations Committee ruled Morris had an agreement with an agent before the NBA draft.

Morris' father, Ralph, has said his son had not hired an agent. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith has said he expects the NCAA to restore Morris' eligibility.

KANSAS: A Jayhawks assistant coach apologized for cursing at a Nevada player following the 20th-ranked Wolf Pack's 72-70 win over the Jayhawks on Thursday night. Joe Dooley yelled at Nevada star Nick Fazekas as the two teams shook hands following the game in Lawrence, Kan.

[Last modified December 3, 2005, 01:23:08]