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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- Down eight points at home with 3:10 to play
usually means a lot of sad faces and hunched shoulders when the
building clears.
| | UConn's Souleymane Wane shovels the ball to teammate Johnnie Selvie during Saturday's win. | Connecticut (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP), with the aid of a controversial goaltending
call with 1.8 seconds to play, closed Saturday's game against No. 5
Arizona with a 12-2 run for a 71-69 victory that set off a student
stampede onto the court at Gampel Pavilion.
"We were down eight in our own building after giving them two
easy hoops," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "We called a
timeout, settled in and ended up making some good plays."
The last of those plays was a drive to the basket by Tony
Robertson that was blocked off the backboard by Arizona center
Loren Woods. Referee Rich Ballesteros called it goaltending,
however, replays showed the block appeared to be good.
"I don't goaltend shots," said Woods, the preseason
All-America who playing in his first game of the season after a
six-game suspension for accepting aid from a family friend. "I
feel if I can block a shot I'll block a shot. That's what I
thought. The ref had a different angle."
Arizona assistant coach Jim Rosborough, who was in charge of the
Wildcats as head coach Lute Olson remained in Tucson to be with his
wife as she underwent a medical procedure, didn't see a replay but
talked to those who did.
"I only heard. ... I've had people tell me, I haven't seen it
yet, and the word I got was that it was worse than terrible," he
said.
The final call didn't take away from the impressive closing run
for Connecticut (7-1), which won its sixth straight.
Richard Jefferson, who missed the Wildcats' last game because of
a one-game suspension for accepting NBA Finals tickets from Hall of
Famer Bill Walton, the father of teammate Luke Walton, scored on a
layup and a dunk -- the easy baskets Calhoun referred to -- to give
Arizona (6-2) a 67-59 lead with 3:10 left.
Johnnie Selvie scored on a loose rebound to start Connecticut's
7-0 run that was capped by freshman point guard Taliek Brown's
three-point play with 1:18 left.
Woods made two free throws with 1:03 left to make it 69-66.
Albert Mouring, Connecticut's leading scorer at 19.4 points who
was limited to 17 minutes because of foul trouble, then nailed a
3-pointer with 47 seconds left to tie it at 69. He was 2-for-6 from
the field in his foul-plagued minutes before tying the game.
"That was a big shot," Robertson said. "Without that shot we
wouldn't have been in a situation to win that game. That was the
game-winning shot to me."
Arizona, the preseason No. 1 team playing with a full roster for
the first time this season, then committed a 35-second shot clock
violation. Michael Wright, who led the Wildcats with 18 points and
10 rebounds, did get a shot off with 12 seconds left but it was
blocked by Selvie and the clock expired as the ball went toward the
sideline.
"I just came through with the block and my teammates saved
it," Selvie said. "And we just played from there."
That led to Robertson's drive and the goaltending call.
"I didn't know about the call until we were in the huddle and
they said don't give up the 3," Robertson said. "I was like,
"All right, it was a basket."'
Arizona had one last chance and Woods caught a long inbounds
pass, turned and shot but it missed at the buzzer and the
Connecticut crowd stormed the court for the first time in the 11
years Gampel has been opened.
It was the second game Olson has missed in his 18 seasons at
Arizona as back trouble kept from being at a home win over La Salle
in December 1994. He didn't make this cross-country trip to stay
with his wife, Bobbi, who is receiving ongoing treatment for
ovarian cancer.
"Obviously I missed Lute for the reason he wasn't here,"
Calhoun said. "I talked to him and he said the procedure went well
but it's been a long, difficult process."
Gilbert Arenas had 14 points for Arizona, while Jason Gardner
had 10. Woods finished with nine points on 3-for-12 shooting in 34
minutes and had two rebounds.
"I couldn't produce today and that's why we lost the game,"
said Woods, who missed the last month of last season because of
back problems that required surgery. "I put two more buckets in
the basket and then we win."
Roseborough was impressed with Woods' first game since last
February.
"I thought Loren did a relatively good job," he said. "He
challenged shots. He blocked shots. For the layoff and what he's
been through he did a good job but I know he is really
disappointed."
Freshman Caron Butler led the Huskies with 16 points, while
Robertson had 14 and Selvie added 12.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Arizona Clubhouse
Connecticut Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
Coach Jim Calhoun is all too familiar with bizarre endings to games.
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Arizona assistant coach Jim Rosborough had little to add in response to the late goaltending call.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
UConn head coach Jim Calhoun on whether it was really goaltending or not.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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