National Basketball Association
Connecticut 74, Pittsburgh 65
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 3, 2012
Where: Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut
Officials:
# Brian O'Connell, # Les Jones, # Mike Roberts
Attendance:
10167
By SportsDirect Inc.
Connecticut 74, Pittsburgh 65: Shabazz Napier scored 23 points, including a game-clinching 3-pointer with just over a minute left, and the Huskies welcomed coach Jim Calhoun back with a victory over the Panthers.
Roscoe Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds for UConn (18-12, 8-10 Big East), which let a 14-point halftime lead slip away, but survived by closing on a 12-4 run.
The Huskies got an emotional lift from the return of Calhoun, who was back on the bench just five days after undergoing back surgery. The Hall of Fame coach received a standing ovation when he walked out to coach his first game since Feb. 1.
Connecticut seemed re-energized by Calhoun's presence and jumped out to a 36-22 halftime lead. But Pittsburgh stormed back with a 14-4 run that tied it at 48 with just over nine minutes left. It was a back-and-forth affair the rest of the way. Travon Woodall’s 3-pointer gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 61-60 with 2:56 left.
The Huskies responded, though, as Smith’s layup gave UConn the lead again and Napier’s 3-pointer made it 66-61 with 1:14 left.
J.J. Moore scored 16 points for Pittsburgh (16-15, 5-13), which has lost six of seven and will likely miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Calhoun was his usual animated-self early in the first half when he felt Napier was fouled on a fastbreak. … The 14-point half-time deficit was the largest of the season for Pittsburgh.
Top Game Performances
| Pittsburgh |
|
Connecticut |
|
J.J. Moore 16 |
Scoring |
Shabazz Napier 23 |
|
Tray Woodall 5 |
Assists |
Shabazz Napier 6 |
|
J.J. Moore 6 |
Rebounds |
Roscoe Smith 7 |
|
Lamar Patterson 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Jeremy Lamb 5 |
|
J.J. Moore 2 |
Steals |
Shabazz Napier 4 |
|
Lamar Patterson 1 |
Blocks |
Andre Drummond 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Pittsburgh
|
65 |
45.8 |
5-18 |
6-8 |
11 |
29 |
1 |
5 |
14 |
| Connecticut
|
74 |
50.9 |
5-16 |
13-17 |
13 |
27 |
9 |
8 |
9 |