UConn Beat BC, And It Was Not Pretty

In high school, my brother was in a production of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. He was the woman in the play within the play. And he was the ugliest woman you’ve ever seen. This game. This effin’ game was uglier than my brother dressed up in a pink muumuu and a blonde mop wig.

For the first time in nine years, UConn faced old rival Boston College in Madison Square Garden in the 2K Sports Classic tonight, and it was not pretty. UConn squeaked past the unranked Eagles, winning 72-70 in a game that literally went down to the final second.

“That was like an old BC-UConn rivalry,” said Coach Kevin Ollie said. “Coming down to the last possession like that. We gutted out a win.”

The Eagles pulled within one with under a minute left. Shabazz Napier uncharacteristically missed some late three free throws, including the first of a pair with UConn up one with 2.3 seconds on the clock. He made the second, putting the Huskies up two, and giving BC time to set up for a homerun play. The Eagles inbounded the ball, and made a quick pass to Lonnie Jackson. And Ryan Boatright, six-foot-nothing Boat Show, stuffed the potentially game winning three-point shot. And Husky nation breathed a collective sigh of relief. This one was much too close for comfort.

The game got off to a slow start. With 8:30 to go in the first half, UConn led 18-16. Yes, you read that right. 18-16. The Huskies pulled away briefly, leading 31-20, when BC went on a 9-0 run. UConn went into the half up only three, 37-34.

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The second half started off better, and the Huskies again went up by 11, but the pesky Eagles just would not go away. UConn’s shot selection was questionable late in the game, and, much like the Maryland game, the Huskies let the Eagles sneak back in down the stretch. The Huskies will have to work on their mental toughness late in games if they want to fair well in the post season.

But as ugly as this game was, the important thing is that UConn beat BC. And, really, what else matters?

Notes:

• DeAndre Daniel carried over his performance from the BU game, scoring 15 of his game-high 23 points in the first half.
• Niels Giffey got his first second-half points of the season, hitting a three. His minutes were limited because of foul trouble.
• Phil Nolan got the hook early in both halves because of foul trouble, and played only 20 minutes. He had four fouls and two rebounds.
• Despite missing some free throws down the stretch, UConn shot 86.2 percent from the charity stripe.
• So. Many. Fouls. The second half was marred by foul call after foul call. Both teams committed 20 fouls each.
• Bazz scored 20 points, but did not lead the team in rebounds. That honor went to fellow guard Boatright, who pulled down seven.
• Ryan Anderson led the Eagles with 22 points and seven rebounds.

Next up: UConn faces Indiana tomorrow at 7:30 at Madison Square Garden in the finals of the 2K Sports Classic.