Karaban shakes off slow start, finishes strong again as UConn beats Villanova

Alex Karaban scored all 17 of his points after halftime as UConn rallied to defeat Villanova. (Photo by Ian Bethune/The UConn Blog)

HARTFORD, Conn. — Some partnerships in life complement one another so well that one cannot be mentioned without the other

George Burns and Gracie Allen. Abbott and Costello. Laurel and Hardy. Alex Karaban and winning.

That last duo may seem out of place in the same company as the aforementioned luminaries, but the countless times in which the redshirt senior has willed UConn to victory deserve their joint recognition. Karaban was a driving force behind yet another win Saturday, scoring all of his 17 points after in the final 14 minutes of regulation and overtime as the No. 2 Huskies survived an upset bid from a scrappy Villanova squad at PeoplesBank Arena.

Karaban did not score his first points until the 9:03 mark of regulation, but that did not stop the veteran from putting his imprint on the game the way he had so many times prior against whoever has stood in his way.

“You’re talking about somebody with a different level of maturity, a different level of championship confidence,” head coach Dan Hurley said of Karaban postgame. “The most decorated player in the history of UConn basketball is not gonna go in the tank after a bad first half. He obviously carried us and made huge plays.”

In a full-circle moment of sorts, Karaban started and finished the Huskies’ game-ending 8-0 run at the free throw line, a cathartic reversal of fortune from last January, when he missed a pair of foul shots at Villanova that would have sent to overtime what ended up being a bitter road loss.

“It was ironic that I was at the line to finish the game,” he said. “But I wasn’t thinking about it whatsoever. I learned from that game, I grew from it, I put it behind me and just saw it as a learning opportunity from last year. So I thought it was pretty cool that I was able to finish it off, finish the game with free throws.”

“You don’t accomplish what he’s accomplished in his career, and what he’s going for this year, unless you’re just incredibly mentally tough and incredibly well-prepared, and able to make adjustments and put a bad half behind you,” Hurley elaborated. “The whole program changed when he got here.”

After a tumultuous junior season in which he valiantly led UConn through adversity while also carrying a greater load due to lack of depth, Karaban has played more within himself this season. His averages of 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game may seem pedestrian, but his 48 percent shooting ranks third-best among the UConn team, while his 42 percent clip from three-point range and 85 percent mark at the free throw line lead both categories. All those numbers, plus the lifetime of winning and impacting success over his years in Storrs, prompted Hurley to lobby for a far greater honor for his senior leader.

“We’ve got a lot of balance,” Hurley prefaced. “But 20 games into the season, nine games in league, he’s been the player of the year in the league because his team hasn’t lost a game (in Big East play) and we’re ranked No. 2 in the country.” 

“He’s a treasure”: Hurley reflects on postgame talk, relationship with Jim Calhoun

HARTFORD, Conn. — Dan Hurley has never shied away from mentioning Jim Calhoun’s name in a postgame press conference.

The current UConn head coach has always cherished the time he gets to spend around the 83-year-old patriarch of the Huskies’ men’s basketball program, affectionately dubbing Calhoun “the GOAT” whenever his name comes up in conversation. With over 800 wins, three national championships and arguably the best program build in modern college basketball history, it is hard to argue Hurley’s assertion.

The two shared another moment Saturday, as Calhoun attended UConn’s 75-67 overtime victory over Villanova inside PeoplesBank Arena. After the second-ranked Huskies scored the final eight points of the extra session to pull away to victory, Hurley was asked about the impromptu chat.

“I think Coach rattled off about four or five things we suck at,” Hurley said, generating laughter from the press corps gathered for his postgame media briefing. “I just wanted to ask him how he was feeling, thank him for being there, and tell him I love him. I appreciate everything he’s been able to do.”

On numerous occasions, Hurley has waxed nostalgic about his first encounter with the hall of famer, one that, by his own admission, was not as cordial as he had hoped.

Upon leaving Rhode Island and replacing Kevin Ollie in 2018, Hurley had tangible regrets following his first workout with his new program, and voiced them to Calhoun. The former coach, in his own unique style, took the time to conduct some on-the-job training.

“He ripped my ass,” Hurley recalled after winning his second straight national championship in 2024. “At the end of day two, I went into his office and said, ‘hey, Coach, this is bull you-know-what. Nothing’s in place. This is UConn. Where’s the infrastructure? What’s going on here? What the hell?’ And he was like, ‘are you shitting me? You’re not the person that we probably should have hired.’”

Hurley and Calhoun have since grown closer since that initial meeting, and the mentor-mentee relationship is so cherished now that the former waited to address his own team Saturday until after he could process Calhoun’s comments and save them for future reference.

“I quickly went in the locker room and put in the notes section of my phone all the shit he said about the things we need to get better at,” a proud Hurley said. “I actually went right in, bypassed the team and took those notes down. Every time I get a chance to be around Coach, I learn something. From the day I got here, every time I get a chance to see him, he’s a treasure.”

UConn returns to action Tuesday, when the Huskies welcome Providence to Gampel Pavilion, seeking a season sweep of the Friars after winning the first matchup on January 7.

UConn’s latest battle with Villanova produces another Big East classic as Huskies top Wildcats in overtime

Solo Ball (1) goes up for layup against Villanova. Ball led all scorers with 24 points as Huskies defeated Wildcats in overtime. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press)

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn’s history with Villanova since Dan Hurley arrived in the Nutmeg State has taken an already notable rivalry to a higher level, even predating the Huskies’ return to the Big East Conference.

In January 2020, after a hard-fought, close loss in Philadelphia, the coach who would later win a pair of national championships in the next four years issued his now-famous proclamation.

“You know, people better get us now,” Hurley said then. “That’s all. You better get us, because it’s coming.”

Two years later, in one of UConn’s more memorable conference games, the Huskies stormed back from a double-digit deficit and a Hurley ejection by official James Breeding to stun a Wildcat team that would go on to the Final Four.

Saturday’s encounter between the two heavyweights of college basketball produced another chapter in the history books, as UConn needed five extra minutes to overcome the young, scrappy Wildcats and leave PeoplesBank Arena with a 75-67 overtime win.

“That’s the true definition of a Big East Conference game right there,” Hurley remarked as the second-ranked Huskies (19-1, 9-0 Big East) won their 15th consecutive game, the longest win streak for the program since the 1994-95 campaign. “For me, reflecting on it now, when I got to UConn, we were shit and ’Nova was on top. It was the best program in the country, and then we rose and they struggled a little bit.”

“I think what you saw today is going to be the beginning of these UConn-Villanova games, classic games where both teams are championship-level at the same time. What they look like in year one with Kevin (Willard) and the (coaching) staff, they made us earn the shit out of this one.”

For a majority of the afternoon, the Wildcats played a carbon copy of their winning effort Wednesday against Georgetown, in which they conceded just 23 first-half points to the Hoyas before pulling away after halftime. UConn trailed at the intermission, 31-27, and stayed within a bucket in the early minutes of the second stanza, when the game appeared to tilt away from the host Huskies.

With the score tied at 33, Braylon Mullins appeared to take an elbow to his forehead, hitting the floor while fighting Villanova’s Acaden Lewis for a loose ball. The freshman sharpshooter did not return to the contest and was later revealed to be in concussion protocol in Hurley’s postgame press conference, placing his availability for Tuesday’s game against Providence in doubt.

Two minutes after that, when a foul was called on Silas Demary, Jr., Breeding called a technical foul on Hurley, harkening back to 2022, only this time with a less demonstrative coach on the bench.

“History almost repeated itself,” Hurley joked. “I was proud of my impulse control, as well as James gave me a little bit of a leash there. I just felt like we weren’t getting to the free throw line. We were driving the rim, we were attacking the paint. I thought Alex (Karaban) got clearly fouled on the offensive rebound and they called kind of a touch foul on the other end. I didn’t like how the game was being officiated at that point, and that’s why I did what I did.”

“But you should have saw me and James the rest of the way. I thought we worked great together after that.”

Trailing by six after free throws stemming from the personal foul on Demary and technical against Hurley, UConn surged into the lead with nine straight points, punctuating the run with a Solo Ball three to take a 40-39 lead with 12:13 remaining in regulation. The triple was part of a resurgent afternoon for Ball, whose 24 points led all scorers on a day where he shot 5-for-12 from three-point range and appeared to finally emerge from his season-long slump from behind the line.

“For him, this was a really good step forward,” Hurley insisted. “The guy is a beautiful shooter. I just think the shooters, sometimes when you have the weapons that we have when Bray’s in there, you don’t get the volume. Solo’s volume went up today, which then just gave him a lot more freedom. The ball was in his hands a lot more.”

But Villanova was not done yet, answering back with a 7-0 spurt of its own to go up four before Alex Karaban shook off a quiet first half with his first points of the day at the 9:03 mark of the second half. The veteran would later cash in a 3-pointer and a conventional three-point play down the stretch to keep UConn in front, until Matt Hodge splashed a triple from the left corner with just over a minute remaining in regulation to give the Wildcats a 61-59 advantage.

The Huskies tied the score on the ensuing possession when Tarris Reed, Jr. was able to put back a Demary miss to forge a 61-all deadlock, where the margin remained as Jayden Ross denied a go-ahead three by Bryce Lindsay, who redeemed himself by stripping Karaban in the final seconds to force overtime. Neither side led by more than one possession in the extra session until the final minute, when after a pair of Karaban free throws put UConn in front, Ball secured the rebound on a missed layup by Lewis. From there, Demary finished the job, converting a driving layup to further an 8-0 run to close the game.

His team bent, but not broken, Hurley acknowledged the flaws that still exist in the on-court product, but opted to celebrate the success and live in the moment before shifting gears to a Providence side that comes into Gampel Pavilion Tuesday intent on avenging a loss on January 7 where the Friars led by double digits before falling in overtime.

“You can’t take the joy,” Hurley said. “That was a joyful locker room. Listen, I’m gonna watch the film, you’re gonna see the ways you’re shooting yourself in the foot, you’re gonna see the mistakes…dying on screens, not getting a defensive rebound, getting a lead (and) not being able to extend it. But listen, we’re 19-1, we’ve won 15 in a row and we played a heck of a non-conference schedule. I’m not gonna take the joy out of being in a great spot.”

Kevin Willard quote book: UConn

On his message to the team after the game:

“That was a great battle, man. On the road, a great environment, a really good basketball team. I thought for playing Wednesday night and then having a week off, I thought we did some really good things defensively to keep them off balance. Give them credit, Solo Ball played great.”

On 50-50 plays that didn’t go Villanova’s way:

“Yeah, I think that’s alright. We’re a young team. Even though Dev’s old, we’re still a young team, so guys were trying to make plays, they got to the rim. We didn’t finish at the rim, which was like, I thought we had some opportunities at the rim. But the big thing is we’re still going down playing high-level defense, which if we can continue to build on that, then we’ll get out in transition and we’ll get some easier buckets.”

On Tyler Perkins and his double-double:

“Perk’s just playing hard. He’s playing physical, he’s using his shot fake real well, he’s doing a lot of good things.”

On learning how to close games out with this team:

“I gotta get better at that. I gotta put the right lineups out there at times, and I’m learning a lot about certain guys, what to do. At the end of the day, we don’t do a free throw box-out and we don’t get a huge rebound when we’re up four with about six minutes to go, and I thought that gave them…they make two free throws, make one of two the next time down. Sometimes to get there on the road, you gotta make sure you finish possessions, and I thought there were three or four times where we didn’t finish possessions with rebounds.”

On being encouraged despite the loss:

“No, I don’t like losing. We should have won the game.”

Hawkins hits game-winner as GWU beats USC Upstate

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Gardner-Webb’s Colin Hawkins scored on a driving layup with 4.1 seconds left as the Runnin’ Bulldogs picked up their first Division I win of the season with a 67-65 victory over USC Upstate Spartans on Friday at Paul Porter Arena.

“Coach just trusted me with the ball in my hands,” Hawkins said. “At first, I was looking to pass it, and then I just decided to put my head down and go. This win means a lot. We knew it had to come sooner or later. Now that the first one is out of the way, we are going to celebrate tonight and then get to practice and go after the next one.”

“This was a breath of fresh air,” GWU coach Jeremy Luther said. “We finally got one. This team looked lost the last few games and then we got down by 13 tonight and it’s like, ‘oh no, here we go again.’ But we stayed together and shots started falling, and we were able to get the win.”

Hawkins got off to a fast start with the game’s first five points, but Karmani Gregory capped a 10-2 Upstate run with a three as the Spartans led 10-7. Carmelo Adkins hit a pair of treys later in the half as the lead grew to 21-10 with 11:02 remaining.

Hawkins stopped the bleeding with a layup and DJ Jefferson canned a triple to cut the deficit to 23-17, forcing an Upstate stoppage. Mason Bendinger responded with a three-point play out of the timeout and Gregory canned one from beyond the arc. With the visitors once again up by double digits, Jacob Hogarth went to work in the paint. He scored on three straight trips that saw the Runnin’ Bulldogs only trailing 32-29 at the half.

Hogarth stayed hot coming out of the locker room with another bucket. The teams kept trading buckets until the Spartans hit four straight from the foul line.  Hogarth was forced to the bench with his third foul, but Jamias Ferere hit a three and Hogarth came back in the game to hit a short jumper to give GWU the lead at 44-43.

Bendinger answered on the other end and the lead began to change hands on each trip down the floor. Upstate entered the double bonus at the 9:07 mark, but a big three by Riek Riek gave GWU a 55-54 lead with 6:36 left in the game  The game continued to go back and forth, as it was tied at 58 with 3:29 left.

Jacob Hudson then grabbed a rebound for Gardner-Webb, and raced the length of the floor for a layup and a 62-60 lead with 2:07 remaining. Ferere hit a three from the corner, but Gregory did the same for the Spartans. Breylin Garcia tied the game with a putback, only for Hawkins to garner what turned out to be the game-winning shot, ans Ace Talbert stole the ensuing inbounds pass to seal the win.

 

HOGARTH GETS HOT: Even though Jacob Hogarth finished with a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, he did not score until after the final media timeout of the first half. The Iona transfer had six straight points to help GWU cut a 13-point deficit to three at halftime.

“Coach Luther pulled me out of the game because I wasn’t playing that well,” Hogarth said. “I put my head down because I was disappointed. Coach said he believed in me  and he knew I could do better. My teammates were behind me, supporting me, too.”

Luther provided more perspective.

“Jacob is not a lazy player, but sometimes he will coast,” the coach revealed. “I yanked him out and got under his skin a little bit, and it made him mad. A mad Jacob Hogarth is good news for us, and very bad news for whoever we are playing.”

DEFENSE!!, DEFENSE!!! GWU entered the game ranked 364th out of 365 Division I teams in defensive efficiency, just in front of North Florida, giving up almost 88 points per contest. Against the Spartans, they only allowed 65 points.

“We finally nutted up and decided to play defense,” Luther said. “The last few games, we let our inability to score affect our defense, but not tonight. We had some times where we could not throw it in the ocean, but we stayed locked in on defense and that was the difference in the game.”

TEAM LEADERS: Gregory and Adkins led the Spartans with 22 points and 15 points, respectively. In addition to Hogarth’s double-double, Hawkins had 11 and Ferere scored 10 for GWU.

UP NEXT: USC Upstate will host Longwood on Thursday at 7 p.m., while GWU will travel to UNC Asheville the same night for a 6:30 p.m. tip.

CCSU unable to recover as two FDU runs sink Blue Devils

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — You must know the saying by now. It feels like it's said almost once every broadcast in college basketball.

Basketball is a game of runs.

Sometimes those runs go your way and you have success, but other times they don’t and you find yourself searching for answers.

The latter occurred on Friday night for Central Connecticut, as the Blue Devils surrendered separate 15-0 and 12-0 runs on the way to a 76-66 loss to FDU.

“The last three weeks, we’ve been leaking oil on defense,” head coach Patrick Sellers said. “Our defense hasn’t been great, and it's something we’ve talked about and worked on.”

The Blue Devils allowed the Knights to shoot an even 50 percent from beyond the arc (11-for-22), and gave up countless easy layups that could have been contested better. It's the second straight loss for CCSU, and in both games, the defense didn’t do its part. On Friday, it was a pair of guards for FDU in Eric Parnell (29 points, 7-for-12 on three-point field goals) and Joey Niesman (18 points) that stole the show.

“With Parnell, we told them in our scouting report that he’s a really good shooter and that he can’t get going,” Sellers said. “He hit one in front of our bench early in the first half and got going.”

Offensively, CCSU was fine for the most part. The Blue Devils did only go 5-for-15 from three, but continuously got good looks inside the arc. Four players finished in double figures, led by 19 each from Darin Smith, Jr. and Jay Rodgers. Max Frazier and Melo Sanchez each chipped in 11.

After jumping out to an 11-point lead late in the first half, CCSU saw it disappear in an instant with the final 14 points of the half going to the visitors and FDU building a 32-29 lead. A free throw after the break got the run to 15 before the teams traded jabs for a bit, with a Smith three cutting it back to one for the Blue Devils, at 40-39.

From there, the Knights surged again with their 12-0 run to blow the game open. The lead reached 20 after a Parnell three around the seven-minute mark, its highest peak. CCSU tried to play the foul game late, but the game never got back within single digits.

“In our last timeout huddle, I said to the team that I wanted them to know that it was January 23 and we hit a rut,” Sellers said. “I told them we’re gonna pick it up and get it back. We’ve got all of February and March to get going, so we’re gonna figure this thing out as a group.”

As Sellers suggested, there’s still plenty of chances for CCSU to get back on the right track and anything can happen once you hit the NEC Tournament in early March. Unfortunately for them, or fortunately depending on if you look at it as a chance to regroup and recharge, it looks like Sunday’s game at Stonehill will be postponed to a later date. Assuming it is, the Blue Devils would return to action either once that one is made up or on Thursday at Wagner, whichever happens first.

New Haven sees win streak snapped, but still lots to like in debut NEC season

Jabri Fitzpatrick has been one of several bright spots for New Haven in first Division I season. (Photo by University of New Haven Athletics)

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

WEST HAVEN, Conn. — It makes sense why New Haven was picked last in the NEC preseason coaches poll. It’s quite simple, actually. 

The coaches didn’t know anything about them.

Who’s to blame them? 

A team transitioning up to the Division I level that was returning just two players? Easy enough just to throw them tenth in rankings, much easier than scouting out who the Chargers had back in October, when they had 19 new bodies and no idea who would actually contribute.

“I think that we can play with most teams in this league,” head coach Ted Hotaling said. “Like most leagues, it comes down to your execution down the stretch and it being at a high level on both the offensive and defensive end.”

 

So, how have the Chargers fared in NEC play? Even after falling 61-57 in a close loss to Mercyhurst, New Haven is still 4-3 in league play and right in the thick of things in the conference, turning heads in the right direction.

“I tell people internally that we expect to win every game and some people think that’s outlandish, but I actually think they’re realistic,” Hotaling said. “I think our guys have a lot of confidence in the league right now.”

It's not always pretty offensively — New Haven ranked in the bottom 15 in scoring in the country coming into the day — but the Chargers find ways every night to, at the very least, be competitive in the NEC, and have shown flashes on both ends after winning three of their last four.

A lot of their success lately, win or loss, and especially Friday, can be attributed to star guard Jabri Fitzpatrick. The junior has explosiveness that is matched by few players at this level and is a phenomenal finisher around the rim. Against the Lakers, he had 12 points, all of them by the 16-minute media timeout in the second half.

Fitzpatrick got going late in the first half and it carried over early in the second as well. He scored a bucket with a couple seconds to put UNH in front, 28-27, at halftime. He scored a quick six points to start the second, starting the game a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.

Fellow Chargers Najimi George and Andre Pasha join Fitzpatrick to form what has really been a big three of sorts at the Hazell Center this year. All three bring varying play styles that supplement each other well. 

“You’ve got to play your game and execute your identity on both offense and defense,” Hotaling said. “And if you can do that, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win. I think our guys are there right now mentally.”

George scored a team high 17 points in the loss, using a bruiser-like play style to get to the rim and free throw line. He shot 7-for-10 from the stripe in the defeat, making it his goal to end up there with every drive. Pasha was the lone Charger to hit from beyond the arc, nailing three triples, including a pair in succession of each other early in the second half. He finished with 15 points.

As the game progressed, both sides traded blows and neither was able to really break away. UNH had a 50-48 lead with around five minutes to play, but the Lakers rattled off a 7-0 run to go up 55-50. A three-point play from Teshaun Steele cut the lead to two at the 2:07 mark, and after a pair of Mercyhurst free throws came perhaps the sequence of the game for the Chargers.

Trailing 57-53, George went to the rim and finished through contact, earning a free throw. He missed, but Steele was able to grab the offensive rebound and after running a set, Pasha hit a floater in the lane to knot things at 57 with 36 seconds to play.

Mercyhurst called timeout and drew up a play that ended up in a buzzer-beating fadeaway mid-range from Jake Lemelman to put them up 59-57 with eight seconds to go. 

“It was a really tough shot to make, so credit to him,” Hotaling said.

Hotaling called a timeout and drew up a sequence that got his floor general the ball. Fitzpatrick received the inbounds around the three-quarter-court area and used his speed to try and get to the rim and tie the game. Instead, he ran into essentially a wall and went to the ground, allowing the Lakers to get the steal and seal the game at the foul line. Hotaling was not happy, believing in the moment that Fitzpatrick was fouled.

“Eight seconds left, just trying to make a play at the rim or get to the rim and create a head of steam to put a little more pressure on the defense,” Hotaling said. “Trying to create a foul or create an advantage, just unfortunate it didn’t turn out well.”

Even with the loss, there was still a lot to like from not just this game, but really the whole season so far for New Haven in its first at the Division I level. If the fellow NEC coaches knew the type of hustle and heart that this team had, I bet they would rank the Chargers a lot higher in their polls going into the year.

The Chargers were supposed to be back in action on Sunday back at the Hazell Center against Saint Francis, but with the expected snowstorm this weekend, the NEC postponed the game. The next game on New Haven’s schedule is now, ironically, a return game against Mercyhurst in Erie. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Merrimack notebook: Warriors look to rebound from Iona loss entering rematch with Saint Peter’s

Kevair Kennedy led Merrimack with 23 points against Iona and appears to be cementing himself as MAAC Player of the Year favorite. (Photo by Merrimack College Athletics)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Merrimack had one foot out the Hynes Athletic Center doors with a hard-fought road win, until Ernest Shelton missed a 1-and-1 and Toby Harris made the Warriors pay with a last-second three that gave Iona a much-needed home victory.

Still, there were positives for Joe Gallo’s team, which had entered Thursday tied for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference lead and now sits a half-game behind Saint Peter’s. Three in particular stand out in this postgame notebook:

Kevair Kennedy has raised his game as the year has gone on. With a winning pedigree from his time at Father Judge High School, where he led his team to a prestigious Philadelphia Catholic League championship, the 6-foot-5 Kennedy already had a fair share of hype when he arrived in New England this summer. And in a program that has churned out point guards the likes of Juvaris Hayes, Javon Bennett, Jordan Derkack and Budd Clark this decade, the freshman may be exceeding the established standard.

Kennedy led Merrimack with 23 points and eight rebounds Thursday, and is starting to separate himself from the rest of the pack as he bids to become the first men’s basketball freshman to win MAAC Player of the Year honors. The conference crowned its first-ever rookie player of the year on the women’s side last March when Gal Raviv brought home the honor at Quinnipiac.

“He’s been awesome,” Gallo said of Kennedy. “And with the minutes he’s played, he’s basically a sophomore at this point. He got us back in it, had some great drives to the basket and finished. But we just had to get one more stop and unfortunately, we couldn’t get it.”

Like Clark before him, Kennedy has made his downhill drive a calling card of his offensive game. Iona play-by-play announcer David Resnick asked Gallo what makes his floor general such a formidable weapon in transition, and the coach responded in kind.

“It’s a combination of size and speed,” he said. “He’s got great touch, he can finish with both hands. Guys like that are tricky because he doesn’t take a lot of threes, so you think you need to back up, but you also don’t really want a freight train coming at you if you back up. But when you get too close, that’s when he picks up a lot of fouls. He’s just a tough cover and he really willed us back in it.”

While the Warrior backcourt of Kennedy, Shelton and Tye Dorset is constant and consistent, the front line is undergoing a makeover of sorts.

Gallo has been vocal in recent weeks about finding more playing time for KC Ugwuakazi in relief of Todd Brogna at the five spot, and he followed through on that Thursday. The 6-foot-8 junior delivered, contributing 11 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes, with the latter mark tying a season-high for the East Texas A&M transfer. Gallo was again asked if Ugwuakazi’s burgeoning role would expand, answering in the affirmative.

“More and more,” he said of how often Ugwuakazi would hear his number called. “I said it to my staff before the game, I said this is why kids are so much better when they stay at the same school for a second year at least, because if you look at KC in the South Dakota State game to KC today, it’s like night and day.”

“I think people always talk about what’s new, and it’s hard to have a bunch of new guys and they have to pick up a new system. When you give a school a second year, you’re a completely different player. None of us have that luxury anymore, so you’ve gotta speed up the learning curve. It’s like the second semester is year two for these guys.”

Merrimack looks to stem the tide Saturday when it hosts Saint Peter’s in North Andover. The Peacocks made a statement in the previous meeting between the two programs, outmuscling the Warriors to the tune of a 76-63 beatdown in Jersey City on January 11. The response following that loss was positive, with commanding wins over Quinnipiac and Marist to offset the bitter taste of defeat, and the hope is that lightning can strike twice in that regard Saturday.

“Obviously, you can’t let one lead to two, lead to three,” Gallo said. “We’ll see what we’re made of. I told those guys after the first loss, we’ve had some of the best practices, the best shootarounds, the best preparation that I’ve ever coached. Don’t be frauds. Don’t let one loss take all that air out of you. We’re not frontrunners, we’ll just show up and tomorrow and do what we always do. If anything, it should pump some extra helium into you.”

Harris’ last-second three steals win for Iona, ends Gaels’ skid

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Toby Harris grew up a North Carolina fan in his hometown of Durham, and remembers one particular moment in Tar Heel history quite well.

In the 2017 South Regional final, UNC advanced to the Final Four after Luke Maye’s jumper in the final seconds broke a 70-all tie and continued the redemption story that ended with an eighth national championship banner being raised in Chapel Hill.

Nearly nine years later, Harris — who plays a role for his Iona team similar to the one Maye filled under Roy Williams — got to replicate that iconic moment to an extent.

Trailing by two points with 12 seconds remaining, the Gaels had a chance to tie or win the game at the buzzer after Merrimack’s Ernest Shelton missed the front end of a 1-and-1. CJ Anthony secured the rebound and drove into the lane to find Lamin Sabally at the center of Merrimack’s 2-3 zone. Sabally then found an open Harris in the left corner, who pump-faked, took one step, then fired from beyond the 3-point arc and splashed the game-winning triple with 1.1 seconds left to give Iona a 61-60 victory after the Warriors could not get a final shot off.

“Obviously (with) no timeouts left, they told us to push the pace against the zone,” Harris recounted. “I really couldn’t tell what defense they were in, but I’m pretty sure it was their zone. Lamin got it in the middle and as a shooter, you’re always taught to find a window. I think the scout is out, so everyone’s flying, so shot fake and reload. Big win for us.”

The Gaels (13-8, 5-5 MAAC) could have easily gone inside and played for overtime, but Harris had other ideas.

“It’s a good question,” he admitted. “I think in this type of environment, the way we were playing, when (Shelton) missed that free throw, you always go for the win in that scenario.”

“We got caught ball watching,” Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo conceded. “(Sabally) made a great pass. It looked like (Harris) was just gonna take a tough shot, and he still had to shot fake and sidestep to get it off, but it was just a really good shot by a really good player.”

Gallo’s counterpart revealed he had a play designed for Harris regardless of the free throw outcome.

“We had a play for a three for Toby whether they made or missed,” Dan Geriot explained. “We thought (Shelton) was going to make the first, at least, so when he missed the first, the other play off a missed first was for Lamin to run right to the middle of the zone.”

“Our spacing there was different because (Chase) Cormier was in the game, and that kind of shifted their bumps. We kind of put two shooters on that side and tried to make them make a play, and then Lamin, the decision maker that he is, made a good one. Something about that left corner step-back three for the Gaels this year, obviously a great play for Toby. I’m really, really happy for him.”

Merrimack (12-9, 8-2 MAAC) came into Thursday’s contest tied for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference lead with Saint Peter’s, who dealt the Warriors their lone previous conference loss on January 11 in Jersey City. But Iona never trailed by more than five points, and rode the hot hand of Denver Anglin, who scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half, to stay within two of the visitors at halftime.

“(Anglin) kept us in it the whole game,” Harris gushed. “So if anyone should be thanked, it’s him. We’re a team that fights, and I think that’s what we showed today. Honestly, I could have gone 0-for-15 tonight, and if we won, I probably would have been the happiest guy on the floor. I think that’s just the type of team we are.”

“I just feel he’s so clear right now,” Geriot said of Anglin. “I feel him in this organization, I really do, and I think it’s starting to pay off. Our routine’s not for everybody. You gotta really be obsessed, you gotta be a little bit crazy upstairs to be good here, you know what I mean? I think we found that with him, and we’re chomping at the bit to keep going.”

The Gaels did just that in the final stanza, regaining the initiative as threes from Harris and Anglin keyed a 7-0 run midway through the second half. Merrimack fought back one more time with a 10-2 spurt to swing the pendulum in their favor as Kevair Kennedy (23 points, eight rebounds) furthered his MAAC Player of the Year candidacy by willing the Warriors to the lead. After a pair of Andres Marrero free throws afforded the Warriors a 60-56 margin, Iona quickly cut that in half on a Sabally dunk before sending Shelton to the line and setting the stage for the final sequence.

“We got punched,” a candid Gallo said. “But (Iona) played a heck of a game. We really had to fight to get back in it, we took the four-point lead, and I probably should have called a timeout just to slow the ball up and set up our defense. But Anthony made a great drive, and you saw the last shot. We lost Harris, which is obviously a guy you can’t lose.”

Merrimack now sets its sights on a rematch with Saint Peter’s this Saturday, this one on its home floor. For the victorious Gaels, the win is not only a confidence boost after a two-game losing streak for the first time this year, it also gets the season back on track halfway through the MAAC slate.

“It’s huge just because we lost these last two in a row,” Anglin said. “So our approach in practice leading up to this game was just emphasizing how important this one was. We came out today, we fought, and we got the win.”

Inside the Numbers: North Alabama at Queens

 

Queens coach Grant Leonard poses with new Queens all-time three-point leader Chris Ashby (left) before Wednesday's win over North Alabama.  (Photo:  Brian Wilmer/Daly Dose of Hoops)

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CHARLOTTE – The night started at Curry Arena Wednesday with a fitting tribute to Queens’ new three-point standard-bearer, Chris Ashby. Ashby was honored for breaking the school record for triples in a Saturday win at Stetson.

Two hours later, what was at one point a rock fight turned into a runaway Queens victory – in which Ashby did not score, but still made many key contributions – that took the Royals to 7-0 atop the ASUN. It’s been said that any guy on the Royals’ roster can lead on any given night, and Wednesday was the night for Avantae Parker, Jordan Watford, and Yoav Berman, among others.

You know that the Royals won, 87-62. Now that you know that, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!

• Queens coach Grant Leonard knew the Royals would be in for a battle, which they got for most of the night. There was one aspect of the game with North Alabama that made it mean a little more to Queens, though.

“They made the game really physical. That’s an identity of theirs,” Leonard said. “I told our guys before the game that they won the league last year. They tied for the regular season. They played in the championship game. We were at their place when they won and we watched them cut down the nets. Guys like Berman, (guard) Nas (Mann), Chris, and (guard) Maban (Jabriel), that’s what we’re trying to get to, and we’ve got to remember how hard it is and how long 18 games are.”

"I’m proud of our guys, because I thought they put in a full 40-minute effort tonight defensively and on the glass, and I couldn’t be more pleased with their effort.”

• Queens missed just one free throw all night, knocking down 24-of-25 (96 percent) from the stripe. This was just the second game all season in which the Royals canned all but one, matching its 7-for-8 effort against Sacred Heart earlier in the season. Leonard’s side hit 20-for-20 at one point, making the head Royal quite pleased after the game.

“We work on (shooting free throws),” Leonard said. “These guys hate rapid-fire free throws, because they want to take their time and spin the ball. Berman hates that, but we just want to get them as many looks as we can and practice when we have the ability to have multiple courts and four rims.”

“You can see (Parker and Berman’s) releases just getting more consistent because they’re getting more reps. 24-for-25 is special. I know that’s not going to be realistic every game, but I believe that we’re an elite free throw shooting team – 75 percent or better. I know that’s because of (Parker and Berman).”

• The Royals set a season-high with 54 points in the paint, outpacing the Lions by 20 in that statistic. North Alabama clearly aimed to deny the three-ball from the Royals – Queens finished 3-for-15 – but the Royals went at the Lions’ chests and attacked the gaps to great success.

“When we build the roster, we get guys that can really shoot it,” Leonard said. “Then, we get finishers, and we get some guys that can do both, like Berman. For us, having those guys that can really finish at an elite level at the rim like Avantae, Jordan Watford, Mann, and Berman – man, it really puts the defense in a quandary.”

“People think that it’s all the threes we’re hitting that’s winning – we’re actually number one in the league in two-point field goal percentage and we’re crushing people in the paint. I’m just proud of our guys for making the right decisions.”

• To the earlier point about Queens’ team environment and how it could be anyone’s night at any given time, Berman offered some additional insight into the team dynamic.

“It’s awesome. Everybody’s got your back,” Berman said. “Everybody’s had a rough stretch this year, and we’ve got enough guys that can score the ball to kind of cover for us. If somebody’s having an off night, we can still win the game.”

“You think about it – the Preseason Player of the Year Chris Ashby doesn’t score. He goes 0-for-6,” Leonard added. “Last year, when we had games like that, we really couldn’t get over the hump. This year, it hasn’t really affected us. I’m really proud of our guys, because they don’t get rattled.”

“Like Berman said, he had a rough stretch for a little while, and it didn’t affect him. He kept playing, he kept improving and studying the film, and you can really watch these guys – they believe in each other and they just try to make the right play. Different defenses are going to guard us different ways, and we just take what the defense gives us.”

• North Alabama cut the game to five at one point, but Queens raced out to a 22-5 burst that put away the Lions. The Royals’ defense played a huge part in the run, which Leonard shouted out after the game.

“I’m not sure about all the season stats but holding them to six assists and 16 turnovers – I’m fairly certain that’s the most we’ve forced all year,” Leonard said.

(Leonard was technically correct – the Royals also forced 16 against both Duquesne and Lynchburg earlier this season.)

“For a team like this who doesn’t turn the ball over – North Alabama is historically low in turnovers – it’s all because of these guys’ ball pressure, and they’ve been getting better,” Leonard added. “I mean, they’ve been hating me all year about ‘ball pressure, ball pressure, ball pressure’ every single day, but it’s getting there. We’re slowly getting better defensively and on the glass, and I’m proud of these guys for that.”

• Berman was the recipient of Buddy the Street Dog for his performance. The power guard – is that a thing? – scored 20 points and dished five helpers.

“Berman’s been our best defender over this stretch,” Leonard said. “He’s guarded everyone. He’s guarded other teams’ best wings. He’s guarded fours. He’s guarded point guards. He’s switched. He’s walled up on five-men. He’s been the toughest dude on the floor.”

• Finally, Leonard – known for his sweaters – again wore a sweater with the image of Dr. Martin Luther King. Leonard expanded a bit on his admiration for Dr. King in his postgame remarks.

“Martin Luther King is special to me. I think he’s possibly the greatest leader in American history,” Leonard said. “I don’t know that we give him enough love, even though he has his own holiday. He’s inspirational in his courage and leadership, his voice, and how he brought people together. I can’t give him enough credit. He’s possibly the greatest inspiration I’ve ever seen in American history.” 

Watford paced Queens with a career-high 23, dropping 7-of-10 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line in 21 minutes of play. Berman added 20, hitting 8-of-16 from the deck and all three of his tries from the stripe. Parker finished a board shy of a double-double, adding 18 points to the Royal effort. Carson Schwieger added 11, while Mann contributed 10. The Royals hit 53.6 percent of their tries from the field (30-for-56), despite hitting just 20 percent (3-for-15) from distance. The Royals hit 96 percent (24-of-25) from the line.

North Alabama was led by Kevin de Covachich, who booked 15 despite going just 2-for-9 from the field. Forward Corneilous Williams added 12 despite battling foul trouble much of the second half. Junior guard Canin Jefferson tallied 11 on 3-for-6 (2-for-4 from distance), with freshman point guard Braylon Patton adding 10 with his 5-for-9 performance. The Lions hit 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the field, with 25 percent (4-for-16) of their three-point tries finding the net. North Alabama hit 72.7 percent (16-for-22) from the stripe.

Next up:  Queens travels to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., for a conference matchup with West Georgia. The game is slated for 4:30pm (Eastern) Saturday, weather permitting. ESPN+ will stream the contest. North Alabama is off until Thursday, Jan. 29, when it travels to Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., to battle Florida Gulf Coast. ESPN+ will cover that 7:00 start.

Hustle Stats:

Points off turnovers:  Queens 25, North Alabama 6

Points in the paint:  Queens 54, North Alabama 34

Second-chance points:  Queens 13, North Alabama 10

Fast-break points:  Queens 15, North Alabama 4

Bench points:  Queens 28, North Alabama 21

QUEENS 87, NORTH ALABAMA 62

NORTH ALABAMA (6-12, 1-6 ASUN)

Williams 5-13 2-2 12, Patton 5-9 0-0 10, de Kovachich 2-9 10-10 15, King 0-0 0-0 0, Howell 1-8 1-2 4, Bacchus 2-4 0-2 4, Jefferson 3-6 3-4 11, Graham-Howard 1-1 0-0 2, Albritton 2-3 0-2 4, Walker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 16-22 62.

QUEENS (12-8, 7-0)

Mann 2-5 6-6 10, Parker 7-8 4-4 18, Ashby 0-6 0-0 0, Schwieger 4-7 2-2 11, Berman 8-16 3-3 20, Watford 7-10 8-8 23, Henry 1-1 0-0 2, Celestin 0-0 0-0 0, Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Larson 1-2 1-2 3, Jabriel 0-1 0-0 0, Crider 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-56 24-25 87.

Halftime:  Queens 42-33. 3-Point goals:  North Alabama 4-16 (Patton 0-1, de Kovachich 1-4, Howell 1-6, Bacchus 0-1, Jefferson 2-4), Queens 3-15 (Mann 0-2, Ashby 0-4, Schwieger 1-4, Berman 1-4, Watford 1-1). Fouled out:  Larson (QUC).  Rebounds:  Queens 35 (Parker 9), North Alabama 26 (Williams 5). Total fouls:  North Alabama 19, Queens 15. Technicals:  NA.

 

 

Kevin Willard quote book: Georgetown

On second halves and halftime adjustments:

“I think the biggest thing is the fans have to understand in the first half, Ed gets to yell my play out to his team, I get to yell their play out to the team. So it’s really hard to score in first halves because the coaches all know the plays, but I’ve watched Georgetown play nine times now, so we know when the center’s out in the corner, they’re gonna run a boomerang. We know when (Malik) Mack’s on the block, it’s gonna be an iso. You’re yelling that out, so you’re giving the advantage, so it’s more or less…we only watch defense at halftime so they don’t have to contend with my voice in the second half.”

“And it’s just getting a very young team to understand…that was all I talked about at halftime. This is Big East play, they’re a really good, physical defensive team. It’s not gonna be easy, we have to rebound and get out. That’s usually all the message is, it’s just really cleaning up what we’re struggling with defensively. We watch film, we see where we made our mistakes, I watch the offensive stuff to see what I want to call in the second half, and it’s just about…again, I think (Acaden’s) a freshman, even though (Tyler’s) a junior, he’s playing many more minutes. Bryce is a sophomore, Matty’s a freshman…the physicality’s like, alright, this is like this every time. It’s just getting used to the physicality, and this is a very physical league. In the second half, when the coaches can’t yell the plays out, it always opens up and loosens up. Now the players just have to play defense. They usually don’t.”

On forcing 17 turnovers and 12 steals:

“I put a lot on Acaden’s plate. He’s done a phenomenal job this year. One of the biggest things I’m trying to get him to understand is as a point guard is when he brings the ball up, everybody’s looking at him. When he’s guarding the ball, everybody’s looking at him. And so I thought he did a phenomenal job tonight picking up Malik and heating him up, pressuring him, and I thought his body language and his energy transformed everyone else.”

On guarding Malik Mack:

“Just make it tough. Malik’s a special player, he’s really good on ball screens. We just wanted to be physical, and again, I thought Acaden’s early physicality, which we didn’t do against St. John’s, I thought that changed the way Malik attacked the ball.”

On Villanova’s poise controlling the ball:

“I think you have to give them a little bit of credit too, on the defensive end in the first half. I thought they did a really good job of staying home on Bryce, they took away the roll in the game, we missed some layups early, but I thought we did a much better job of being secure with the basketball.”

On UConn and Saturday’s matchup:

“That’s the good thing about league play, you get to watch everybody now. Yeah, Danny’s done a phenomenal job. He’s got all veteran players, the young kid (Braylon Mullins) can really shoot the lights out. He hunts shots, it’s so fun to watch him play because he’s always hunting, he’s always looking how to get a shot. We’re gonna have to defend at a high level, but more importantly, we’re gonna have to rebound on the road against a really, really good basketball team.”

On Villanova honoring George Raveling:

“I think the good thing is these guys learned who Coach was. I asked the whole team before how many knew him, and I think there was one or two that really did. And everyone’s like, ‘oh, that’s crazy,’ but then you think about when they were born. Coach played here in the late ’50s, he was an assistant in the ’70s…they weren’t even, their parents weren’t even born. So I think what I tried to explain to them is just understanding yes, he was a great coach and a great man, but he really stood for the civil rights movement and that was his passion, and that’s what I thought he brought so much, what his legacy’s all about. And these guys don’t know it, but their opportunities are here and what they’re getting is all because of guys like Coach Raveling. He was a trailblazer. When you really look back, he was a security guard — he volunteered to be a security guard — and that’s how he got the speech, which is nuts. Today, these guys…my goal was that they go back and they read about him and they learn about him because I’ve really enjoyed that. I didn’t know Coach worked here before I got the job, and so when I found out that he had played here, then I started doing my research on all the great impacts he’s had. It’s special. He’s a big part of what Villanova is today, that’s for sure.”

St. John’s battles back to down Seton Hall, further timely surge

Dillon Mitchell (1) finishes second-half dunk as St. John’s completed 15-point comeback Tuesday with win over Seton Hall. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino’s latest motivation was a rhetorical question.

The hall of fame coach, master tactician and unrivaled king of conveying messages picked the brains of his roster before Tuesday’s game against Seton Hall. What exactly did the Red Storm’s leader want to know?

His players’ most favored trait of Zuby Ejiofor, their senior teammate, whose hustle is praised fondly and effusively on a near-everyday basis around the program.

“I asked the guys before the game: ‘What do you admire most about Zuby?’ Pitino recalled. “And they all said, ‘he just outworks everybody.’ I said, ‘well, I gotta get 13 guys that outwork everybody like Zuby in order for us to progress at the level we want to get to.”

Message, once again, received. Except this latest execution required more of a relentless fight.

Trailing Seton Hall by 15 with 16 minutes remaining in regulation, St. John’s looked overmatched by the scrappy Pirates, who jumped on the offensive glass and used their physicality and fearlessness to build an advantage that, coupled with the Johnnies’ offensive struggles, looked insurmountable.

Until Dillon Mitchell, arguably the team’s most valuable player this season for his knack to provide value and plays that affect winning no matter the situation, stepped in and willed the Red Storm back.

With Ejiofor in foul trouble and Bryce Hopkins laboring harder as a result, Mitchell posed a matchup problem for Seton Hall. With his presence on the floor, the 15-point deficit was quickly whittled down to seven. Then five. Then three, then one, until his basket with just under five minutes remaining in regulation put St. John’s ahead for good.

“It’s just playing as hard as you can,” Mitchell said of his refusal to give in. “That’s the main thing. It was nothing special that we did, it was nothing that we drew up or something like that. It was just playing hard, getting stops on defense. At that point, down 15, you’ve got nothing else to lose. You gotta go out there and try to get back in the game, and that’s what we did.”

“The coaches have been telling us, even before the game, what it’s gonna take to win this game, to stop (Seton Hall). In the first half, we didn’t listen, we didn’t do none of those things. The second half, we just had to stay together. We got a little frustrated, but we stayed together, we locked in on what we had to do. We just went out there and played our hearts out, left it all on the court.”

The Texas and Cincinnati transfer does not have the gaudiest statistics, as evidenced by his standing as the fifth-leading scorer with an average of just over nine points per game. However, his 59 percent shooting is a team best, and his intangibles have caught the eye of a fellow veteran who has seen many players come and go during his time.

“We see it every day, what he brings to this team,” Hopkins said of Mitchell. “His energy, his athleticism, how vocal he is with us in timeouts and stuff like that. He’s impacted us in a tremendous way. We love being out there in that lineup with Dillon out there with us, and I feel like we’re playing some really good basketball right now. The ball’s moving, guys are playing confident, not pressing.”

Since being inserted into the starting lineup on January 6, Mitchell is averaging nearly ten points per game to go with nine rebounds, three assists and a collective 19-for-35 mark from the floor in St. John’s five-game win streak. More importantly, his competitive spirit has trickled down the bench to the rest of his teammates, with a revelation of sorts coming Tuesday night as the Johnnies began what would eventually be a 33-13 run to close out Seton Hall.

“I think we’ve discovered that there’s no quit in us,” Hopkins shared, harkening back to Mitchell’s nothing-to-lose mentality. “As (Pitino) stated, we didn’t come out how we wanted to in the first half, and I think the discussion between me and the guys was, who’s gonna be the tougher team? Are we just gonna fall down and keep getting punched, or are we gonna get back up and throw our punch? And I feel like that was the biggest thing we did coming out of halftime, even if we started out a little slow in the second half. At the 15-minute mark, I feel like something clicked with the guys. We all came together and we decided to play every possession like it was our last, and just rallied around that to just keep building that momentum.”

Pitino expounded on that never-say-die mantra, sharing the rationale behind his assertion that the Red Storm had its back to the wall after losing to Providence on January 3.

“I said our backs were to the wall because they were, and I wanted my team to feel that,” he explained. “I wanted my team to understand this could happen at any point in time. You’re gonna face certain nights that are not your night, but you’ve gotta dig in and find a way to win. You’re down 15, don’t worry about it. You’re getting down. Don’t get down, get up, possession by possession. Make the plays offensively, get the offensive plays, get the defensive rebounds, play by play. Dig in. It’s not your night, (but) it will be our night with a victory, so just dig in. And they did.”

The innate desire and pursuit of perfection, and not settling for anything less, has been a common characteristic of almost every team Pitino has shepherded over a half-century of basketball. Sometimes nothing is good enough to satisfy someone who has seen it all over 1,000-plus games on the sideline. On Tuesday, an exception was made.

“Without question, this was my favorite game of the season,” he said. “Now we’ve played better, but it’s my favorite game of the season because when you’re down 15 to a team like Seton Hall, and you’re getting your backs kicked on the offensive glass and you’re in foul trouble, and you come back from 15 down and wind up with 20 offensive rebounds, you really wanted to win this game.”

“These guys keep getting better and better and better. Seton Hall’s a tough-ass team to play against. And we had to pull a Seton Hall to win this game.”