Dec. 28, 2000

Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The ball just didn't fall for No. 10 Connecticut, but the Huskies' defense was there when it mattered most.

The Huskies got 14 points from Tony Robertson and had 13 steals to hold off hot-shooting Stony Brook for a 67-58 victory Thursday night.

UConn (11-1) struggled from the perimeter - 3-of-10 from 3-point range - and wasn't much better inside, either, as layups and tap-ins rolled off the rim.

"It looked like there was a piece of plastic up there and how we responded wasn't how I'd like us to, but we got our 11th win," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said.

UConn converted three straight Stony Brook turnovers into points during a 12-0 run late in the game to pull away.

"They weren't terribly excited about playing against Stony Brook and that happens a lot" Seawolves coach Nick Macarchuk said. "We took advantage of the situation and our guys hung in there the whole game."

The Seawolves (5-6) shot 75 percent in the second half and were paced by Josh Little, who was 6-of-7 from 3-point range and had a game-high 22 points. With his performance, Little became the school's 3-point career leader with 170.

Little, a senior from nearby Rocky Hill, said he's thought about this game since the summer.

"Every day I go to the gym and I shoot late at night. This has been the game on my mind," said Little, who played despite bone chips in his left foot.

Stony Brook took a 6-0 lead, while the Huskies missed seven straight shots to open the game. Robertson's 3-pointer with four minutes gone was UConn's first field goal.

"We weren't prepared necessarily to have things go wrong for us, and when they went wrong, we didn't act right," Calhoun said.

The lead changed nine times in the first half. Caron Butler's jumper off an inside-out feed from Robertson put UConn up 25-24 with 6:34 remaining and gave the Huskies the lead for good. Stony Brook was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers in the half, including three by Little, and trailed 34-28 at halftime.

"As soon as we got our lead, they started coming right back and made it tough for us," Robertson said.

The Seawolves, playing their second year in Division I, battled within 56-53 with less than five minutes left on Leon Brisport's three-point play.

The Huskies countered with their 12-0 run, fueled by four points from Taliek Brown.

Albert Mouring, who had three of UConn's 13 steals, finished with 12 points for UConn, as the Huskies 30 points off 24 Stony Brook turnovers.

"The only way to overcome (good shooting) is to play good defense and that's what we did in the last two minutes and got the victory," Mouring said.

Brisport had 13 points and nine rebounds.

By DONNA TOMMELLEO
Associated Press Writer