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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A man of very few words, Albert Mouring made a big statement for No. 6 Connecticut on Thursday night.
The junior guard had 20 points to lead the Huskies to a 64-50
victory over Providence. It was the Huskies' first Big East home
win of the season, and Mouring had to step up as the offensive
leader when junior point guard Khalid El-Amin bruised his right
thigh and was lost for most of the second half.
Mouring was 4-of-8 from 3-point range, perfect in four attempts
from the foul line, and finished with three assists and five
rebounds.
"Albie did some ball-handling, he made some big shots,"
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "He grabbed the basketball and
showed some leadership."
UConn (14-4, 3-3) also played most of the second half without
senior forward Kevin Freeman, who took an elbow to the back and sat out with spasms. A few minutes earlier, at the 18:16 mark, El-Amin collided with Providence center Karim Shabazz and did not return.
The Huskies had lost at home to St. John's and Notre Dame this
season and were coming off a 74-88 loss at No. 4 Syracuse.
The Friars (8-11, 1-5) have lost five straight and brought a
young starting squad -- four juniors and a freshman -- into the
Hartford Civic Center.
With their leaders sidelined, UConn also had to rely on youth
and Calhoun admitted for his young players "it's not an easy
situation to fall into." Some had it easier than others.
Freshman Marcus Cox played 22 minutes and finished with four
points, six assists, a block and two steals. Freshman Tony
Robertson pulled down five rebounds, had a block and a steal, but
was unhappy with his five turnovers.
"I don't know what I was thinking about. I don't even know if I
was thinking. I don't know how to explain my performance,"
Robertson said. "It started out well. I'll take the win."
Trailing 9-8 with 14:16 remaining, the Huskies got both an
offensive and defensive spark off the bench with Cox and Robertson.
Cox had two straight steals that resulted in breakaway baskets
from Robertson and El-Amin for a 12-9 lead. The Friars briefly
regained the lead with a 4-0 run on a basket by Erron Maxey and two
free throws by Shabazz.
Mouring then hit two of his four 3-pointers in the 23-9 run over
the final 10 minutes to help the Huskies take a 37-22 halftime lead
and pull away for good.
"We let Mouring get too loose," Friars coach Tim Welsh said.
"We were trying to play aggressively and create tempo."
Jake Voskuhl had 10 points and 10 rebounds for UConn, while
El-Amin had nine points.
Shabazz led Providence with 17 points and Maxey had 16.
Freeman will likely return for UConn's game Sunday against Seton
Hall. El-Amin said he's also shooting for Sunday.
"But I have to take it day by day," he said.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Providence Clubhouse
Connecticut Clubhouse
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