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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NEW YORK (AP) -- Things have changed for Connecticut since Khalid
El-Amin hit a buzzer-beater to beat West Virginia. The Huskies have
won four straight since that running shot, the latest a 79-64 Big
East quarterfinal victory over Seton Hall on Thursday.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard scored 24 of his 30 points in the
first half and the fourth-seeded Huskies (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) held off a second-half run
by the Pirates as they moved a step closer to winning a third
straight Big East championship.
|  | | Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin drives for two of his game-high 30 points against Seton Hall. |
"People were counting us out," El-Amin said of the defending
national champions' 2-3 league start and six conference losses, one
more than they had the two previous seasons combined. "We know
what type team we have. We can play with anyone and we can beat
anyone. We have to bring energy and intensity every night."
The Huskies (23-8) advanced to Friday night's
semifinals against ninth-seeded Georgetown (18-13), which beat
top-seeded Syracuse 76-72 Thursday. Big East history will be made
regardless of who wins because no team that has played in the
opening round has ever even advanced to the championship game.
El-Amin, Connecticut's leading scorer at 16.4 points a game, had
24 points in the first half on 10-of-12 shooting as the Huskies
took a 43-29 lead.
"I let the game come to me (against Boston College in the
opening round) and that didn't work so good," said El-Amin, whose
career high is 34 points against Notre Dame earlier this season.
"I was aggressive going at the defense like I should and the shots
were falling."
But the fifth-seeded Pirates (20-9) used an 8-0 run to get
within 52-49 with 13:58 to play. They were within 54-51 on two free
throws by Ty Shine with 12:31 left when Albert Mouring's 3-pointer
started a 15-1 run that gave the Huskies a 69-52 lead with 8:05
left. Seton Hall never got closer than 13 points the rest of the
way.
Connecticut's deciding run included a technical foul called
against Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker. El-Amin made two free throws
on the technical, and Kevin Freeman scored on a rebound on the
ensuing possession to cap a run of 11 straight points.
"Certainly this was a disappointing loss for us because we had
the opportunity to make a run and try to get back in the game after
being down by a lot in the first half," Amaker said. "Mouring's 3
took a lot of wind out of us."
Amaker was matter-of-fact in talking about the technical.
"I thought a foul should have been called and I said so," he said.
The victory was the eighth straight in Big East tournament play
for the Huskies, a streak that dates to the quarterfinals of the
1998 tournament. Connecticut had won a total of 10 games in the
first 18 tournaments.
The win was the seventh straight for Connecticut over Seton
Hall, a streak that included two games this season. In those games
El-Amin had a total of 27 points. It was also the Huskies' fifth
straight victory overall.
"We knew it would be tough beating them three times but that
was not added motivation," El-Amin said.
His 30 points were the most in the Big East tournament for a
Connecticut since Donyell Marshall set the tournament record with
42 against St. John's in 1994.
"He's as good a winner as there is in America," Connecticut
coach Jim Calhoun said of El-Amin. "He did it for the same reason
he does everything, to help the team win."
Edmund Saunders had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies,
who finished 29-for-56 from the field (51.8 percent), while Albert
Mouring had 11 points and Jake Voskuhl added 10.
Shaheen Holloway had 21 points for the Pirates, who shot 38.2
percent (21-for-55) and were outrebounded 41-25, while Samuel
Dalembert and Rimas Kaukenas each added 11 points.
The loss was the fifth in seven games for Seton Hall, which has
to wait for Sunday to find out of it makes the NCAA Tournament's
field of 64.
"Having 20 wins for us -- I mean, we just mentioned that to our
team even though it's not a great time to think about anything
positive -- is a great achievement," Amaker said. "We're proud of
getting to that plateau, and we hope that will be taken into
consideration come Sunday."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Seton Hall Clubhouse
Connecticut Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Khalid El-Amin gets the ball from Tony Robertson on the break.
avi: 587 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Khalid El-Amin beats Ty Shine off the dribble, then dishes to Jake Voskuhl.
avi: 1202 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Kevin Freeman talks about his role against Seton Hall.
wav: 81 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
El-Amin looks towards improving each game.
wav: 124 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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