Huskies Survive In Overtime

By Eugene Joh on March 23, 2014

American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Shabazz Napier scored nine points in overtime to lift the University of Connecticut over St. Joseph’s University, 89-81. Napier, the Huskies’ starting guard, posted a complete performance including 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.

The contest was very tight early on, with St. Joe’s leading on the scoreboard for the majority of the first half. With a little over five and a half minutes remaining in the first half, however, UConn played some poor possessions and the Hawks took advantage. Napier misfired on a triple and a layup, while Niels Giffey missed a jumper during a 7-1 run by St. Joe’s that brought the score to 37-27.

UConn was able to regroup after some poor play, going back to their bread and butter as Napier dished to Giffey, and then Boatright, for a pair of three-pointers. St. Joe’s did not make a field goal in the last 2:42 of the first half, but made three free throws to enter the second frame up 40-35.

Connecticut came out with a purpose in the second half, immediately scoring off of a Deandre Daniels jumper. On the other end of the floor, Giffey snatched a steal that ended up in the hands of sophomore Phillip Nolan for an emphatic dunk that shrunk the Hawks’ lead to one.

With just a little more than fifteen minutes to play, St. Joe’s pulled ahead by 7 and UConn looked to enter another dip in their level of play. Like they’ve often done when getting in trouble, the Huskies made some clutch threes when they were needed most. Giffey hit the first dagger, and Napier hit the second, to again bring the Huskies to within one at 46-45.

It was more of the same as the game approached the end of regulation. St. Joe’s would slowly build their lead, as UConn hit some risky three’s to keep it close. With 2.7 seconds left in regulation, the score was tied at 70-70. With a little more than a second left on the clock, Napier had the ball in his hand. Immediately after getting the ball he explodes past half-court, stopping on a dime just in front of the 3-point line to hoist up a potential game-winner. The arena prepares for an explosion of either awe or disappointment as the ball rattles on the rim and falls out. The Huskies’ bench, along with the rest of the stadium, groans at what was almost another miracle shot by their star guard.

Napier was able to complete one of the most memorable plays of the season earlier this year, when he had the ball in his hand for the last possession of a game against a Florida Gators team that is currently ranked No. 1. The Gators double-teamed and smothered Napier, who lost the dribble on two separate occasions before throwing up a desperate shot that didn’t even come close to sinking. But a fortunate bounce gave the ball right back to Napier, who had just enough time to hit a buzzer-beater for the victory. Lightning was just a few inches from striking twice for the Huskies against St. Joe’s, but wasn’t to be as both teams prepared for another five minutes of play.

Overtime was littered with foul line play for the Huskies, with a Napier layup being the only field goal for UConn in the period. The Hawks hit two three-pointers in overtime, by Langston Galloway and Chris Wilson, but were unable to guard an aggressive Husky offense without fouling.

UConn was excellent at the line to close it out, going 18-20 for the game and 15-16 in overtime. The Huskies were also efficient behind the arc once again, going 11-24 from three-point range to St. Joe’s 7-21. It proved to be the difference for a UConn team that shot below fifty percent from the field, at 30-66 for .455.

Next, the Huskies take on former Big East rival Villanova University. Nova is ranked 6th in the country, the highest seed out of UConn’s former longtime conference. Connecticut left the Big East at the beginning of this school year, becoming a part of the newly formed American. The Huskies will look to record their biggest upset of the year by unseating their former conference adversaries, and keep Shabazz Napier’s breakthrough season alive for as long as possible.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format