2008 Woodie Awards
UConn routs men's basketball in Storrs
Chris Morrow
Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Sports
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It was the UConn Huskies' persistence that drove them to an 89-46 victory over the Pioneers.
Sacred Heart lost control early. Their only lead came 3:20 into the game with the Pioneers up 5-4. The Huskies would dominate from there on out, ending the first half with a 45-19 lead.
The Pioneers lack of size was crucial throughout the game. Sacred Heart was only able to put up 22 points in the paint, while UConn dropped 50 points down low.
"Sometimes when you play [poorly], it's your own fault. Sometimes when you play [poorly], it's the other team's fault," head coach Dave Bike told the Connecticut Post. "I'm going to blame them for as bad as we played."
The Huskies forced 20 turnovers on which they capitalized by scoring 25 points, as the Pioneers were only able to come away with eight points off of 13 turnovers.
Sacred Heart couldn't take advantage of rare given opportunities either. Late in the second half, Joey Henley came down court on a break away, only to miss an open lay-up. A few plays later with the open court, Henley went up for a dunk only to have it bang off the rim.
"They came at us offensively, they came at us defensively. We were overmatched," said Bike in the post game press conference.
The Huskies ran with three guards most of the night to match up with the Pioneers smaller size, a factor that helped the Huskies and proved to be the difference.
"We had to play small. It's the smallest team we've played," said Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun.
Doug Wiggins was a spark off the bench for the Huskies offense, finishing with 12 points and five assists along with Craig Austrie who also put up 12 points.
Ryan Litke led the Pioneers' in scoring, coming off the bench scoring nine points, followed by Jarrid Frye who had eight.
Freshman Chauncey Hardy ended the night with seven points, four assists and six turnovers.
The win against Sacred Heart marked Connecticut's 25th consecutive win at home.
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