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--- men_s_basketball:uconn_01_30_10 [2010/02/07 05:55]
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+++ men_s_basketball:uconn_01_30_10 [2020/12/07 16:49] (current)
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-===== Hayward Saves Day for Eagles  =====
-Providence, R.I. — The Marquette Golden Eagles were in full panic mode. The Providence Friars were going for the knockout blow. The Dunkin' Donuts Center crowd of 12,061 was in full throat.
-And then [[Lazar Hayward]] took control.
+===== Sealing The Deal   =====
+Hartford, Conn. — The Marquette Golden Eagles turned the tables Saturday afternoon and boy, did they ever enjoy it.
-Over the final 47 seconds of the teams' Big East Conference showdown Saturday afternoon, the senior forward rebounded a shot that could have given the Friars the lead, grabbed an offensive rebound on the other end, hit a pair of free throws to give the Golden Eagles a three-point lead and then, with time winding down, defended a ball screen to perfection.
+After having lost five of their first eight Big East games by a combined 11 points in just about every heartbreaking way imaginable, they were finally able to inflict their pain on someone else. [[Jimmy Butler]]'s fallaway runner from about 12 feet with 2.4 seconds remaining did it, lifting the Golden Eagles over the No. 19 Connecticut Huskies, 70-68, at the XL Center.
-Vincent Council's three-pointer came up short as a result, and MU escaped with an 82-79 victory in a game that easily could have swung the other way had it not been for the senior forward pulling his team back from the precipice after it had nearly coughed up a seven-point lead in the final 1 minute, 19 seconds.
+"We talk about the close losses, and we could have done this and we should have done that," said Butler, who three weeks earlier committed a turnover in the final seconds of a 78-76 loss at Villanova. "But I think it came out the way it did for a reason."
-"We've been in so many different situations in the past, I kind of know what it takes," said Hayward. "I guess it's my experience and instinct."
+It was the first road win of the season for MU (13-8, 4-5), which handed flagging UConn (13-8, 3-5) its second straight loss one week after it dismantled the No. 1 Texas Longhorns by 14 points. Making it even sweeter for the Golden Eagles was the fact that they were able to finish it without senior leader [[Lazar Hayward]], who fouled out with 1 minute 51 seconds remaining.
-While Hayward's performance down the stretch saved the day, his play throughout helped keep MU afloat during some long stretches of ineffectiveness - especially in the first half. He tied career highs with 28 points and 5 three-pointers while also adding nine rebounds, four assists and four steals in 39 minutes as MU (15-8, 6-5 Big East) won its fourth straight game and its second straight nail-biter on the road.
+Everyone contributed in this one - Hayward included.
-Almost as important was his and teammate [[Jimmy Butler]]'s (19 points, seven rebounds) success late in slowing down Providence wing Jamine "Greedy" Peterson, who was threatening to single-handedly take the game over roughly three weeks after being ejected from the teams' first meeting.
+His 20 points and 4 three-pointers staked MU to an early lead and then kept the team within striking distance of UConn once the Huskies made their final push down the stretch.
-"I think it's a senior, but I also think it's a really good human being who's a really good player, who's playing for his last time at Providence and knew we didn't play well for the first 20 minutes," MU coach [[Buzz Williams]] said of Hayward. "He was doing absolutely everything he could to help his team."
+[[Darius Johnson-Odom]], who like Hayward hit some big threes early, not only enticed Jerome Dyson into fouling him on a three-point attempt with 41 seconds left, but then coolly knocked down all three free throws to tie the game at 68-68.
-Consecutive three-pointers by Hayward and Butler had staked MU to a 78-70 lead with 2:04 remaining, and the Golden Eagles were leading, 80-73, when things began to go haywire.
+And, of course, there was the unflappable Butler, who like Hayward battled the Huskies' tall timber in the paint all afternoon despite a sometimes 6-inch deficit to help set the stage for the game-clinching shot.
-First, Council went to the free-throw line with 1:06 left. He hit his first and missed the second, but the Friars rebounded and got the ball out to Sharaud Curry, who hit a three to make it 80-77.
+After Johnson-Odom's free throws, UConn brought the ball upcourt, and jet-quick guard Kemba Walker, whose personal 8-0 run earlier in the half single-handedly got the Huskies and their crowd of 14,338 back into the game, once again got into the lane unmolested.
-On the ensuing inbounds play, Darius Johnson-Odom passed the ball right to Council under the basket. He passed to Peterson for a layup, and it was 80-79 with 56.8 seconds left. Williams called a timeout to set up the next inbounds play, but that one went awry as well as Butler took a 5-second count.
+This time, though, he airballed a floater that Butler corralled. MU moved the ball quickly over the midcourt stripe and called a timeout with 12.6 seconds remaining. After seeing what defensive alignment UConn was in, Marquette coach [[Buzz Williams]] burned a 30-second timeout and switched to a different play, one that called for Butler to give the ball to Johnson-Odom, who was supposed to take the ball to the right side and then give it back to Butler for the shot.
-With the crowd going bananas, Providence had a chance to wrest the lead back but could only manage a forced shot by Marshon Brooks, which Hayward rebounded. The Golden Eagles brought the ball up court and called a timeout with 23.7 seconds left on the game clock and 11 on the shot clock.
+But tight defense by Dyson and poor spacing by the Golden Eagles left Butler to go it all on his own after taking the inbounds pass from Johnson-Odom. After getting past an initial rush at the top of the key, Butler took a few more dribbles to the right side of the paint as the clock wound down.
-The best look they could manage was a long three attempt from [[David Cubillan]], which he missed. But [[Dwight Buycks]] was able to tap the ball away from the basket, and Hayward came down with it. Providence fouled him, and he made both free throws with 13.2 seconds left, making it 82-79 before the Friars called a final timeout.
+With about 4 seconds left, he rose for a runner but then had to fall back some as 6-foot-10 Gavin Edwards challenged him. Butler got the shot off in time, however, and hit it with 2.4 seconds left.
-Coming out of that, MU doubled Curry, who had scored 23 points and hit 5 threes to that point, so the ball ended up in Council's hands. Pushed far out on the right wing by [[Maurice Acker]], Council tried to free himself off a screen near the top of the key. But Acker and Hayward played the situation perfectly, and with no alternative, Council launched a long, fall-away three that came up short as time expired.
+"It felt so good to be on the other end, to hit a game-winner and come out on top of one of these close games," the junior forward said. "Edwards was really close - he actually touched my left hand. That's where the pump came in at, because I was just pulling up. It was a great defensive play. He challenged it and everything."
-"We won and we're happy about that, but it doesn't mean anything moving forward," Hayward said. "It doesn't guarantee we'll beat South Florida (Saturday), and all we can do is keep doing the same things we've been doing."
+UConn inbounded it but then called a quick timeout, leaving the Huskies to inbound the ball from just in front of MU's bench. The ball eventually made its way to Edwards, who was stationed at the top of the key and looking to get it back quickly to a cutting guard for a shot.
-Peterson led the Friars with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
+But Johnson-Odom alertly deflected Edwards' pass, and David Cubillan came down with the ball, running out the clock and sparking a joyous celebration near midcourt for a team that finally was able to derive some benefit from all its previous close calls and head into the second half of the conference season on a definite uptick.
+"I think that our guys expect it," Williams said. "I would say that the close losses have helped, without my voice, explain the importance of every possession."
+Meanwhile, UConn, which was playing its fourth game without Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun, who's on leave with an unspecified medical condition, will likely fall out of the rankings for the second time in three weeks.
+"We got the lead and then made two mistakes down the stretch," said associate head coach George Blaney. "It's a really tough loss for all of us."
+MU offset 38.1% shooting and a minus-19 differential on the boards by getting up 14 more shots than the Huskies and committing a season-low three turnovers - including just one in the final 26 minutes. The Golden Eagles also harassed UConn into 16 miscues, turning those into 19 points.
+Butler finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, Hayward 20 points and Johnson-Odom 15. Dyson had 18 and Walker 15 for the Huskies.
 ===== Box Score =====

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