IU Falls At UConn, 74-69

12/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

December 4, 2004

HARTFORD, Conn. - Junior guard Bracey Wright scored a game-high 28 points, but No. 7/6 Connecticut (3-0) used a large second half surge en route to a 74-69 win over Indiana (2-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Hartford Civic Center. Wright was one of three Hoosiers to score in double-figures, as freshman guard Robert Vaden notched 13 and junior guard Marshall Strickland totaled 10.

"I thought that Bracey played well today," Head Coach Mike Davis said. 'He has put strong back-to-back games together."

Wright grabbed a team-high six rebounds and handed out three assists, to just one turnover, in 39 minutes of action. Vaden corralled five rebounds, while Strickland and senior guard Ryan Tapak each snared four. The Hoosiers committed a season-low six turnovers on the afternoon.

The defending national champions jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first stanza on three pointers by junior guard Rashad Anderson and junior forward Hilton Armstrong.

Both teams continued to battle early, but after a triple from Vaden, a lay up from sophomore guard Roderick Wilmont and a pair of free throws from Wright, IU took its first lead at 9-8 with 13:45 to play in the first half.

Three pointers by Strickland and Wright, sandwiched between an Anderson bucket, tied the game at 16-16 with 8:35 remaining in the first frame.

After Connecticut's eighth turnover of the half, Wright converted a lay up with 4:41 to play to give IU a 25-23 edge.

"I though defensively we played well today," Davis said. "I thought that we made enough stops on the defensive end to win the game today."

With both sophomore forward Pat Ewing and freshman forward D.J. White on the bench with a pair of fouls, senior forward Mike Roberts played some big minutes and gave the Hoosiers a spark. Roberts was a key cog in the Hoosiers 10-2 run as they grabbed a 33-25 advantage.

The Eugene, Ore., native made a pair of free throws, then on Connecticut's next possession he stepped in front of a freshman forward Rudy Gay drive to take charge. It was one of UConn's nine first half turnovers, compared to three by the Hoosiers. On the ensuing trip down the court, Roberts grabbed a missed shot and put the ball back to give IU a 29-23 lead.

Roberts finished the game with six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes. Junior forward Sean Kline played 14 minutes off the bench and had two points and three rebounds.

Jump shots by Vaden and Wright closed the run for the Hoosiers. IU opened the game making only three of its first 20 shots, but closed the half hitting 9-of-15. The Hoosiers led 38-33 at the break.

The Hoosiers widened their advantage to 49-38 with 15:37 to play in the second half on a lay-up by Wright. Strickland nailed a triple with 13:53 remaining to give IU its largest lead of the game at 54-41.

Connecticut would use a 15-1 run to grab a 56-55 advantage with 8:14 to play. During the stretch the Hoosiers went over five minutes without scoring. It was the first time that the Huskies had led since 5:42 of the first half.

"I think during their run, we just lost some concentration," Davis said. "That really hurt us. We need to play for the entire game and keep our head's in the game for forty minutes."

Back to back dunks by sophomore center Josh Boone gave Connecticut a 62-57 lead with 4:48 to play.

Wright connected on a lay-up and Vaden dropped in a free throw to cut the Huskies margin to two, 62-60, with 3:51 to play in the game. That would be as close as the Hoosiers got, as the Huskies connected on their free throws down the stretch.

Anderson led all Huskies with 17 points, while junior forward Denham Brown chipped in with 13, and Boone and Gay added 12 and 11, respectively.

Indiana will return to action at home on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m., against Notre Dame on Branch McCracken Court in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers and the Fighting Irish will match-up live on ESPN with Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas on the call. The game can also be heard live on the IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), Todd Leary (analysis) and Joe Smith (pre game, halftime and post game).