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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) -- According to the seedings and
predictions, Connecticut was supposed to be playing Arizona, No. 1 in the AP poll and No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
Instead, the 12th-ranked Huskies were going against Division II
Chaminade in the consolation bracket.
|  | | Chaminade guard David Toya has his shot blocked by UConn's Albert Mouring, right, and Johnnie Selvie. Selvie led the Huskies with 18 points and nine rebounds. |
With Johnnie Selvie getting 18 points and nine rebounds, the
Huskies bounced back from their opening-round loss to Dayton with a
77-61 victory over Chaminade.
"It was really tough today because we didn't play particularly
well yesterday," said Albert Mouring, who led Connecticut with 20
points against Chaminade. "Playing a Division II team, it was hard
to get up for the game but our guys came out focused and ready to
play.
The Huskies (2-1) will play Louisville for fifth place on
Wednesday. Louisville beat UNLV 86-85 in overtime on Tuesday.
The Chaminade game was Connecticut's last without starters Caron
Butler and Souleymane Wane. Both were suspended for three games for
NCAA violations. The 6-foot-11 Wane will definitely return
Wednesday but Butler's status was still up in the air as the
freshman swingman recovers from a sprained ankle.
"Time will tell about the addition of Caron and Souleymane,"
Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. "I know Souleymane will give us
legitimate size in the paint and we need that. We're not defending
in the post and we're not playing with confidence. We haven't
played like a good team and we should be because we are a good
team."
Connecticut closed the first half with a 12-4 run to take a
42-29 lead and Chaminade (0-2) was never closer than 11 points in
the second half.
Freshman point guard Taliek Brown had nine points and nine
assists for the Huskies, but was just 1-for-8 from the free-throw
line and is 4-for-20 for the season.
"He shot really well in the preseason but he's gone back to his
high-school dip," Calhoun said. "He'll make some big foul shots
to win games for us, I really believe that."
The Huskies, led by Selvie's 8-for-11, shot 57 percent from the
field (31-for-54), a significant improvement from the 39 percent in
the loss to Dayton.
Robert Watson had 20 points and C.J. Cowgill added 18 for the
Silverswords, who lost for the 23rd consecutive time in the
tournament they serve as host. They lost 97-57 to Arizona in the
opening round.
"This was a tough game for UConn," first-year Chaminade coach
Aaron Greiss said. "They were coming off a tough loss and playing
a Division II team in a game they didn't want to play. For our kids
everybody we play in this tournament is a game we get pumped up
for. Our kids played very hard and with enthusiasm and if we
didn't, we would have lost by 40 again."
The Silverswords are 3-45 overall in the 17-year-old event and
their last victory was in the seventh-place game in 1992, a 71-63
double-overtime win over Stanford.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Connecticut Clubhouse
Dayton upsets No. 12 Connecticut 80-66
Arizona cruises past Chaminade without Woods
AUDIO/VIDEO
 SportsCenter highlights from UConn vs. Chaminade.
RealVideo: | 28.8
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