PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Providence is a tough place for Big East
teams to play. It's also a tough place for Big East teams to lose.
No. 18 Connecticut needed two overtimes to beat Providence 94-89
on Tuesday night, getting 18 points and nine rebounds after
halftime from Charlie Villanueva to send the feisty Friars to
another close loss.
"For a young team like us, to come into such a hostile building
and win," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said, "I'm sure I'll be
driving back tonight and having an incredible sense of pride."
Villanueva, a sophomore forward, finished with 22 points and 10
rebounds. He had four points and a key rebound while the Huskies
(16-6, 8-3 Big East) scored seven consecutive points to start the
second overtime. Rudy Gay had a 3-pointer in the run while
Providence (11-14, 1-10) missed two 3-pointers.
The loss continued a trend of dropping close conference games
for Providence. In nine of their 10 Big East losses, the Friars
have been within four points in the final 2 minutes -- and often
closer, later -- before losing by an average of five points.
"We've proven we can play. We just have to prove we can win,"
coach Tim Welsh said. "I've never been through what I've been
through this year."
Ryan Gomes, a first-team All-America last season as a junior,
scored a career-high 37 points -- including all of the Friars' 11 in
the second overtime -- to go over the 2,000-point milestone in his
career. The Friars had beaten UConn twice in a row and were trying
to beat a defending national champion for the second consecutive
season.
"Coach took me out and said, 'Nobody can stop you. Go out and
showcase your skills," Gomes said. "I took that to heart in the
overtime. I had to take over."
Herbert Hill scored in heavy traffic in the lane on a pass from
Gomes to make it 69-69 at the end of regulation. UConn's Denham
Brown made a basket with 24 seconds left in the first overtime to
tie it 78-78.
But the Friars ran out of gas in the second overtime.
Villanueva scored on a putback and then, after Gomes missed a
3-pointer, Gay hit a 3 to make it 83-78. Donnie McGrath missed a 3
for Providence and Villanueva got the rebound; at the other end, he
made a hook shot to give the Huskies a seven-point lead.
Providence never got within four points again.
Marcus Williams had 15 points and 13 assists -- with just two
turnovers -- and Josh Boone had 11 points and 10 rebounds for UConn,
which was coming off Sunday's 77-70 loss to then-No. 2 North
Carolina. The Huskies were again without leading scorer Rashad
Anderson, who is hospitalized as he recovers from an infection in
his leg.
Williams hit Boone with a backdoor pass to make it 66-60 --
UConn's biggest lead of the game -- with 3:25 left in regulation.
But Gomes made a basket and then drew a foul. He made both free
throws to make it 66-64 and give him 2,000 points in his career.
After Brown missed a free throw for UConn, Jeff Parmer hit a
3-pointer from the left side to give Providence a 67-66 lead with
1:22 left. Brown made one free throw to tie it and Villanueva came
up with the rebound.
After a timeout, UConn worked the ball around to Villanueva for
an emphatic dunk and a foul, silencing the Friars fans. But he
missed the free throw, leaving it 69-67 with 37 seconds left.
With Boone covering him, Gomes took a one-handed shot that went
off the backboard and the rim. Villanueva got tied up on the
rebound, giving possession to Providence with 11 seconds left.
Gomes inbounded the ball and got it back, then tossed it to Hill
in the lane for a basket that tied it 69-all with 4.9 seconds left.
Providence had a chance to win it at the end of the first
overtime but McGrath dribbled too long and had to fire up a covered
3-pointer at the buzzer that went off the rim.
Providence was coming off its only Big East win of the season,
an 81-64 victory over Rutgers.