College basketball

Big East: Down 14 at home, UConn rallies to eke past LSU

By wire services
Published January 8, 2006

HARTFORD, Conn. - Hilton Armstrong scored six of his 11 points in the final four minutes to help Connecticut (12-1) rally from 14 points down and beat LSU (8-5) 67-66 on Saturday.

Armstrong's dunk with 3:28 left put UConn ahead 61-59, the Huskies' first lead of the half. But LSU tied it on Tyrus Thomas' bucket on the next possession.

The Huskies leaned on the 6-foot-11 Armstrong again, who scored inside and gave UConn the lead for good. He followed it up with a soft hook on the Huskies' next possession for a 65-61 lead. After the teams traded baskets, Darrel Mitchell, who led the Tigers with 21 points, hit two of three free throws with 9.4 seconds left and the Huskies' lead was 67-66. Marcus Williams missed both free throws on the next UConn possession, but Mitchell's 3-point attempt at the buzzer banged off the backboard.

Rudy Gay finished with 19 points for UConn and Rashad Anderson added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Thomas finished with 15 points for the Tigers. Glen Davis, LSU's bruising 310-pound forward, and Tasmin Mitchell had 12 points each.

Davis drew a crowd of Huskies each time he touched the ball, and although he had just four points in the first half, he had three assists. He found Garrett Temple and Thomas for consecutive baskets to push the LSU lead to 29-19 with 5:45 left in the period.

It was part of a 6-0 run that ended with Thomas' dunk that gave the Tigers their largest lead at 14 and drew an immediate timeout from UConn.

NO. 9 LOUISVILLE 72, PROVIDENCE 67: Freshman Andre McGee scored four of his 12 in the final 1:22 as Rick Pitino won against the school he led to the 1987 Final Four. The Friars fans gave the former coach a standing ovation when he was introduced. Freshman Weyinmi Efejuku scored 19 for Providence (7-6, 0-2), including a free throw that capped a 12-2 run and gave Providence a 67-66 lead with 1:43 to play. David Padgett had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Louisville, while Taquan Dean had 14 points.

CINCINNATI 70, MARQUETTE 66: Cincinnati forward Eric Hicks recorded his first triple-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocked shots - one of a team-record 18 blocks - as the Bearcats (13-2, 2-0) won their 10th straight. The Bearcats trailed 48-36 early in the second half but went on a 24-11 run to grab a 60-59 lead on an Armein Kirkland jumper. Then after a missed shot by Marquette, Kirkland nailed a 3-pointer to push the lead to 63-59. Host Marquette (11-4, 1-1) closed to within 65-64, but Steve Novak, coming off a 41-point outing against No. 2-ranked Connecticut, missed two 3-point shots and the Golden Eagles turned the ball over once. DePAUL 73, NOTRE DAME 67: Freshman Wilson Chandler scored 21 and had 12 rebounds, Karron Clarke added 14 and Jabari Currie 12 for DePaul (8-5, 1-1). Colin Falls hit five of his six 3-pointers in the second half for Notre Dame (9-4, 0-2). He finished with 26 points and Chris Quinn added 16 for Notre Dame.

RUTGERS 82, SETON HALL 78: Quincy Douby scored 29 for Rutgers (11-3, 1-0) and freshman Anthony Farmer added 17 points, three assists and two blocked shots. The Scarlet Knights didn't seal the win until Adrian Hill hit two foul shots with 3.6 seconds left. Kelly Whitney had 29 points for Seton Hall (9-4, 1-1), his third straight game over 20 points, while Jamar Nutter and Donald Copeland each added 17. The win gave the Scarlet Knights one more victory then they had all last season.

[Last modified January 8, 2006, 00:45:14]