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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Jim Calhoun got what he asked for -- more
defense.
Two days after struggling on defense in a win over Brown, No. 16 Connecticut slowed a speedy Houston team in a 72-60 victory on Thursday night.
The Huskies (5-1) switched from man-to-man defense to zone in
the second half, a move that made a major difference.
"We took away their momentum," Calhoun said. "When they had
to stand around, we were able to break out. If you stand on
offense, you have to stand on defense."
The Huskies were coming off an 88-78 win over Brown, in which
they gave up 52 points in the second half.
"Last game we didn't want to play defense. This game we wanted to play defense. We were rotating perfectly," said Johnnie Selvie, who led UConn with 21 points.
Calhoun was particularly pleased with 13 steals, mostly coming off weakside support. Freshman Caron Butler led the Huskies with six steals, and had 15 points and nine rebounds.
"We were patient," Butler said. "We kept our poise."
Selvie, a 6-foot-7 forward, got most of his points in the post.
"I came out with a little more intensity. My adrenaline was
rushing. I had t make up for last game," Selvie said. "I just
have to try to do that every game."
Selvie had five points in a pivotal 7-0 run midway through the
second half to give the Huskies a nine-point lead in a game that
had 11 lead changes.
Albert Mouring added 13 for the Huskies, and Edmund Saunders had 12 points and seven rebounds.
George Williams led the Cougars (2-4) with 15 points and 10
rebounds, and Alton Ford added 13 points.
Both teams struggled early offensively. In the first nine
minutes, UConn was 3-of-16 from the field and the Cougars made just
two of 11 shots. Midway through the period, the game was tied at
10.
The Cougars blanketed Mouring, UConn's 3-point specialist, most
of the night. Mouring hit his first 3-pointer with just three
minutes remaining in the first half.
"We talked about him being one of their go-to guys, most
experienced player," said Houston first-year coach Ray McCallum.
"We wanted to recognize him and make him work."
The Huskies finally got untracked inside and found Selvie, who
had 10 of the Huskies' final 17 points of the half for a 35-30 lead
at halftime.
"Johnnie's longer than his 6-7 because of the way he plays. He's right now our most reliable post scorer," Calhoun said. "Johnnie provides the spark inside that we didn't have last year."
The Cougars opened the second half with an 8-0 run on 3-pointers
by Williams and Ford, and Bernard Smith's layup. UConn countered
with a 14-7 run, fueled by two 3-pointers from Mouring to take a
49-45 lead. After a pair of free throws by Ford, Selvie started the
7-0 run with a layup with 9:04 left.
"We knew it was going to be a major challenge for us tonight," McCallum said. "We wanted to have a warrior mentality. I thought our guys did a great job of competing."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Connecticut Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Edmund Saunders knocks down the jump-hook in the key.
avi: 905 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Houston's Dominic Smith finishes with a sweet move to the basket.
avi: 822 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Caron Butler gets the steal then finishes with the one-handed jam.
avi: 695 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Caron Butler gets the feed from Edmund Saunders then draws the foul and get the bucket to fall.
avi: 765 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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