SYRACUSE - Jeff Adrien had 19 points and 12 rebounds, A.J. Price added 14 points and No. 19 Connecticut held off a late rally to beat Syracuse 63-61 for its sixth straight win.
Connecticut (17-5, 7-3 Big East), fresh from a bruising 60-53 win over No. 21 Pittsburgh that moved the Huskies into the national rankings for the first time in a year, survived when Jonny Flynn's desperation 3 from the top of the key fell short at the buzzer.
Craig Austrie finished with 11 points, and Hasheem Thabeet blocked seven shots for the Huskies.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun also moved one ahead of Syracuse's Jim Boeheim with 767 victories, 10th on the career list.
Paul Harris had 24 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, and four assists for Syracuse (16-8, 6-5), which had won three straight. Flynn finished with 20 points and six assists.
The Orange were done in by a poor performance by their leading scorer, Donte Greene, who was 2-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. Greene, averaging over 18 points, finished with eight points, only the second time this season he hasn't reached double figures. Center Arinze Onuaku also had an off night with just six points and six rebounds.
Syracuse led 34-31 at halftime and the game was tied three times in the second half before the Huskies pulled ahead to stay.
After Greene fed Flynn to for a fast-break layup to tie it at 46, Adrien and Price hit mid-range jumpers to put UConn in front for good.
After Flynn missed an easy layup off an inbounds pass, Thabeet blocked Kristof Ongenaet's layup and converted a layin at the other end to boost the Huskies' lead to 53-46 with 5:56 left.
Price fed Adrien for a dunk to make it 59-50 with 2:29 to go but the Orange battled back. Flynn and Harris each hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to help cut the lead to 60-56.
Austrie made three of four free throws in the final 71 seconds as the Huskies held on.
The complexion of the game began to change when Thabeet made four blocks and Adrien had another early in the second half.
The Huskies got off to fast start but Syracuse quickly settled down. Greene's only 3 of the first half and Harris' steal and dunk gave the Orange an 18-14 lead. But a slam by Thabeet and a foul-line jumper by Adrien, who also had 10 points in the half, tied it again at 9:36, and neither team led by more than three for the rest of the period.
AP-ES-02-06-08 2141EST
Orange 61
Huskies 63
Blog on it
Orange fans, be sure to check out the Orange Slices blog at auburnpub.com/blogs for lively commentary on the SU athletics scene.
Craig Austrie finished with 11 points, and Hasheem Thabeet blocked seven shots for the Huskies.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun also moved one ahead of Syracuse's Jim Boeheim with 767 victories, 10th on the career list.
Paul Harris had 24 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, and four assists for Syracuse (16-8, 6-5), which had won three straight. Flynn finished with 20 points and six assists.
The Orange were done in by a poor performance by their leading scorer, Donte Greene, who was 2-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. Greene, averaging over 18 points, finished with eight points, only the second time this season he hasn't reached double figures. Center Arinze Onuaku also had an off night with just six points and six rebounds.
Syracuse led 34-31 at halftime and the game was tied three times in the second half before the Huskies pulled ahead to stay.
After Greene fed Flynn to for a fast-break layup to tie it at 46, Adrien and Price hit mid-range jumpers to put UConn in front for good.
After Flynn missed an easy layup off an inbounds pass, Thabeet blocked Kristof Ongenaet's layup and converted a layin at the other end to boost the Huskies' lead to 53-46 with 5:56 left.
Price fed Adrien for a dunk to make it 59-50 with 2:29 to go but the Orange battled back. Flynn and Harris each hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to help cut the lead to 60-56.
Austrie made three of four free throws in the final 71 seconds as the Huskies held on.
The complexion of the game began to change when Thabeet made four blocks and Adrien had another early in the second half.
The Huskies got off to fast start but Syracuse quickly settled down. Greene's only 3 of the first half and Harris' steal and dunk gave the Orange an 18-14 lead. But a slam by Thabeet and a foul-line jumper by Adrien, who also had 10 points in the half, tied it again at 9:36, and neither team led by more than three for the rest of the period.
AP-ES-02-06-08 2141EST
Orange 61
Huskies 63
Blog on it
Orange fans, be sure to check out the Orange Slices blog at auburnpub.com/blogs for lively commentary on the SU athletics scene.
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