HARTFORD, Conn. – UConn won a national championship in 2014.
How did the year end? Not quite as well.
In a New Year’s Eve matinee at the XL Center, the Huskies couldn’t shoot straight, lost leader Ryan Boatright to injury with 19 minutes left in regulation and then dropped their American Athletic Conference opener 57-53 to Temple in overtime.
Freshman Daniel Hamilton missed three free throw with 2.8 seconds left in OT. Hamilton was fouled by Quentin DeCosey on 3-point attempt and Temple (10-4, 1-0) leading 55-53. Hamilton (10 points), after a great deal of pacing at midcourt, missed two attempts and then was called for a lane violation when his third attempt didn’t hit the rim as he tried to miss.
Hamilton could have elevated UConn to victory in a game they really didn’t deserve to win. But that ended any chance the Huskies had to win against all the odds.
“I know Daniel feels bad for doing that,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “But there were other things in the game that caused us to lose that game.”
With the game already in the rear view mirror for UConn (6-5, 0-1), the biggest question has to be Boatright’s status. One of the most durable players in program history, Boatright limped off the court with 19:36 left in the second half. UConn officials said the injury was a “deep left thigh contusion.” Boatright was treated with ice in the locker room but when he returned to the bench during the under-8 minute TV timeout, he was wearing a sweatshirt and could only offer advice to the group of teammates heading back on the floor and struggling with their offense.
“He just said, ‘We’re right here, all we need to do is play great defense and convert on the other end to put this game,’ ” said forward Kentan Facey (9 points, 11 rebounds).
UConn will practice in Storrs Thursday, then board a plane to Florida for Saturday’s game against the Florida Gators. Boatright was said to be in considerable pain and isn’t like;y to practice with the Huskies before their departure.
“If he bows out, I know it’s really, really hurting,” Ollie said. “I’ve never seen that kid bow out of anything, just for the sake of our team. He just couldn’t go. We had some other guys try to step up and fill the void for him. Of course, you can’t do that, but I thought the guys really played with some effort.”
The Huskies certainly missed Boatright.. A bigger problem was the way UConn missed the basket throughout the game.
UConn shot 38.6 from the field, 11.1 from 3-point range and 42.1 (8 of 19) percent from the foul line.
“Down the stretch, we just didn’t execute on the offensive end,” Ollie said. “I can’t question our defense. Our rebounding was great. You just have to convert on free throws. You’ve got to convert at the 3-point line. We need a couple of shots to go in.”
Trailing 25-21 at the half, the Huskies did rally to lead 29-27 with Boatright in the locker room. Temple, led by Jesse Morgan’s 17 points, seemed to have an answer for everything. When Amida Brimah (12 points) dunked and was fouled for a three-point play, UConn cut Temple’s lead to 47-45. The Owls gave the ball back to UConn on an offensive foul, but Morgan came away with a steal and was fouled driving to the basket. He made one free throw, but UConn again couldn’t score. Temple broke out on a runaway and Morgan, the UMass transfer hit a 3 to put Temple ahead 51-45 with 1:50 left.
“We gave ourselves a little bit of a cushion but we weren’t able to hold on,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said.
The Huskies didn’t quit. A layup by Terrence Samuel (5 points) was followed by two free throws by Hamilton. And Temple’s 90-second meltdown was complete when Daniel Dingle missed an open 3 and the rebound got knocked out by Samuel for a breakaway dunk by UConn’s Rodney Purvis with 12.4 seconds left. Dingle missed a driving layup with 1 second left and the game went to overtime.
Temple won despite shooting 31.6 percent.
“I think it’s just one of those games,” Dunphy said. “It’s sort of like getting blood from a stone at this point.”
Temple shot 26.7 percent (8-for-30) from the floor in the first half but still managed a 25-21 halftime lead over the Huskies, who were just slightly better at 38.5 percent (10-for-26). Despite scoring 16 points in the paint, UConn missed a bunch of layups and had no second-chance points. The Huskies were also tagged for seven turnovers – and just three assists.
That’s the definition of bad offense. And it seemed contagious in the first half.
The Owls, who destroyed Kansas on Dec. 22 with perimeter play, started off cold but finished the first half 4 of 12 from 3-point range. UConn went scoreless from beyond the arc, missing three times. Each team was whistled for only seven fouls but the game had the feel of an old-time Big East rock fight – except for the fact that the old Big East still scored despite an emphasis on defense.
UConn plays at Florida Saturday in a Final Four re-match from Arlington in April. Four of UConn’s next five games are on the road. The 6-5 start by UConn is the worst through 11 games by a defending national champion in the last 15 years.
“You just have to play through the ups and downs with this team,” Ollie said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to learn from this and get better.”
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