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NCAA Tournament Recap (Tex San Antonio-Connecticut)
Posted: Fri March 12, 1999 at 1:53 a.m EST DENVER (Ticker) -- Richard Hamilton scored 28 points as top-seeded Connecticut put on a breathtaking display of basketball in the final 11:28 of the first half en route to a 91-66 dismantling of 16th-seeded Texas-San Antonio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kevin Freeman added 16 for the Huskies (29-2), who played without head coach Jim Calhoun on the sidelines. Calhoun was sidelined with an intestinal virus, leaving associate head coach Dave Leitao in charge. He watched Connecticut play uninspired basketball the first eight-plus minutes before taking over. "I don't think he does as much yelling, but I don't think there's too much difference," joked Huskies guard Khalid El-Amin when asked to compare Leitao and Calhoun. "Coach Leitao kept us focused and got the job done." "It was a bit of a different circumstance with Coach Calhoun not being here," admitted Leitao. "I just talked with him and he said he was happy with the way he played. We just hope we can have him back for Saturday's game." The Huskies turned an 11-0 burst into a 31-8 run to the end of half as they held a 48-27 lead at intermission. Connecticut was not sternly challenged in the second half as it won its eighth straight first-round game. Connecticut will play ninth-seeded New Mexico in the second round Saturday. Steve Meyer scored 18 points and Leon Watson added 13 for the Roadrunners (18-11), who were making the second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. They lost to Illinois in the first round in 1988 and extended the Southland Conference's losing streak in the NCAA Tournament to 14 years dating back to Louisiana Tech in 1985. "It was a good first step for our program," said Roadrunners coach Tim Carter. "A dream for me is in five or six years from now to be up with the UMass' and UAB's. We hope to have a solid future with four returning starters coming back next season." A 3-pointer by Meyer gave the Roadrunners their last lead at 19-17 with 11:54 to go before Connecticut turned it on. Rashamel Jones hit a pair of free throws before Khalid El-Amin had a 3-pointer and a steal and lay-in to give the Huskies a 24-19 lead with 10:35 to go. Jake Voskuhl had a lay-in and Freeman had a tip-in to cap the 11-0 spurt for a 28-19 Huskies lead. A three-point play by Meyer pulled UTSA within 30-24, but Connecticut stormed to the half on a 22-3 tear as Hamilton and Freeman netted six points apiece en route to a 52-27 lead. "We picked it up on defense," said Hamilton. "The first couple of minutes, they made a couple of big shots and we didn't pressure them like we should. Coach Leitao called a timeout and told us to keep applying the pressure. We did that and started getting some turnovers." "We were keeping it as close as we could, but it was still early in the ballgame," said Roadrunners guard Devin Brown. "When they went on their run, we just tried to keep it close and maintain our composure." Connecticut shot 53 percent (20-of-38) from the field in the first half and 55 percent (37-of-67) for the game. The Huskies' bench accounted for 31 points as Edmund Saunders and E.J. Harrison netted 13 and 12, respectively. El-Amin finished with 10 assists and one turnover, while Moore had six assists. Brown scored 11 points for Texas-San Antonio, which shot 41 percent (25-of-61) but only 3-of-17 from 3-point range. The Roadrunners also were outrebounded 43-33. The Roadrunners came no closer than 18 points in the final 20 minutes.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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