|
|
 | ||
|
|
NCAA Tournament Recap (Ohio St-Connecticut)
Posted: Sun March 28, 1999 at 12:24 a.m EST CONNECTICUT 64, OHIO ST 58ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Richard Hamilton scored 24 points and continued to display his underrated defensive skills as Connecticut advanced to its first NCAA Tournament title game with a 64-58 victory over Ohio State at Tropicana Field. Hamilton, the Big East Conference co-Player of the Year, was the primary defender on Gonzaga's leading scorer Richie Frahm in the Huskies' 67-62 victory in the West Region final, holding him to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Matched up tonight against a better scorer in Ohio State's Michael Redd, the 6-6 junior again was up to the challenge, hounding Redd all over the court and into a 7-of-18 shooting performance. Hamilton, though, was able to get his shots offensively and went 10-of-17 from the field. "Tonight, I had fun," admitted Hamilton. "Jake Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman set great screens and Khalid and Ricky Moore did a good job of getting me the ball. We played great defense, got easy steals and scored easy baskets." Khalid El-Amin, who went 0-for-12 in the win over Gonzaga, added 18 points, including a key bucket with 3:52 to play. El-Amin teamed with Huskies defensive specialist Ricky Moore to clamp down on Ohio State's other scoring option, Scoonie Penn, limiting him to 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting -- 1-of-10 in the second half. "I've said he is the best defensive player I ever coached," said Huskies coach Jim Calhoun of Moore. "He led us in rebounding and cut the head of the dragon off." "I knew he was quick, so I gave him a little room and tried to contest his jump shot," said Moore when asked how he guarded Penn. The Huskies (33-2) will play Duke in the championship game Monday. Connecticut failed to show its explosive offense on a consistent basis despite leading the entire second half and having many opportunities to put away the game. Redd, who averages just under 20 points, finished with 15. The Buckeyes (27-9), who were in the Final Four for the first time since 1968, completed an impressive one-season turnaround in which they improved by 19 wins. But they shot only 24 percent (8-of-33) in the second half and 37 percent (23-of-63) overall. Connecticut had the Buckeyes on the ropes with 7:19 to play in the first half as Hamilton had a follow shot to increase the lead to 32-23, capping a 14-3 run, which he highlighted with nine points. But Ohio State regrouped with 10 straight points, taking its final lead at 33-32 on a six-footer by Redd with 2:07 to go, as the Huskies committed five turnovers in a four-minute span and went scoreless for over five minutes. Hamilton and El-Amin ended the dry spell with lay-ins 24 seconds apart to give the Huskies a 36-33 lead with 90 seconds remaining. The outset of the second half saw Connecticut tighten the screws on the Buckeyes defensively. El-Amin and Jake Voskuhl set up baskets for each other, and Hamilton hit a 10-footer with 17:12 to play as the Huskies opened a 42-35 lead. Ohio State missed its first seven shots as Penn and Redd were unable to get open looks. "We're not out there to prove a point," said Hamilton. "We wanted to let our game do the talking. As long as we played 5-on-5, we were going to be victorious." "It was a matter of us being more aggressive," said El-Amin. "I had to prove myself that I am a better player than the last game. We're always fast. We played great defense, turned it into points for the offense." Connecticut took its largest lead at 51-41 on a fast-break layup by Rashamel Jones with 11:46 to go. The Buckeyes made just three of their first 17 shots until that point, and the Huskies still led 55-46 after a lay-in by El-Amin with 6:38 to play. But UConn played conservatively as four different Ohio State players scored in an 8-2 burst. Brian Brown stripped El-Amin as he went up for a shot, leading to a lay-in by Redd that made it 57-54 with 4:16 remaining. That forced Huskies coach Jim Calhoun to call a 20-second timeout to settle his team. It seemed to work as Edmund Saunders hit El-Amin with a bounce pass from the low post, and the 5-10 guard knifed his way into the paint for a 12-footer. The teams traded empty possessions before Penn made one free throw with 2:53 to go to make it 59-55. Voskuhl nearly turned the ball over on Connecticut's next possession, but El-Amin had the presence of the mind to call a 20-second timeout before the ball rolled out of bounds. With the shot clock running down, he had a 10-footer rattle in and out, and the ball was batted to Voskuhl, who passed out to reset the offense. After a deflection by Brown left 12 seconds on the shot clock, the Huskies worked the ball to Hamilton, who stuck a 12-footer to make it 61-55 with 1:42 to play. Redd made the first of two free throws, and after missing the second, teammates Ken Johnson and Jason Singleton came down with the rebound but neither let go of the ball, resulting in a walk. Moore made a pair from the line with 33 seconds left to make it a seven-point game. Penn hit two free throws after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. Saunders missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Ohio State missed three 3-point attempts and George Reese failed on two free throws with 5.6 seconds left, sealing the victory. "They turned our mistakes into easy points," said Penn. "They may be the best team in the country at doing that." Connecticut shot 47 percent (26-of-55) from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range. Saunders came up with another huge effort in place of Voskuhl, who logged only 19 minutes and fouled out with two points. Saunders finished with five points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. The Buckeyes missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the second half and were 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. © 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
| ||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||
