The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Late Charge Falls Short
Rally by short-handed Huskies not enough in loss
MEMPHIS — Dan Hurley admitted things were “pretty somber” around his team the past few days after learning that leading scorer Jalen Adams was likely done for the season.
And the UConn head coach added that it was “a little unnerving” having to go against runand-gun, athletic Memphis without both Adams and starting point guard Alterique Gilbert, who continues to sit with shoulder soreness.
All that considered, UConn showed plenty of nerve and very
MEMPHIS 78 UCONN 71
little, well ... somberness at FedExForum on Sunday afternoon. And while Memphis wound up with a 78-71 win, the Huskies could hold their heads pretty high as they walked off the floor.
UConn never led, trailed by 15 early in the second half and by 13 with 61⁄2 minutes left to play. But the Huskies (13-11, 4-7 AAC) got to within four twice within the last 1:14, the latter after an Eric Cobb inside hoop with 33 seconds left.
However, Memphis knocked down four straight free throws over the final 29.9 seconds to seal the deal.
“Losses are unacceptable when you coach or play at a program with the history and tradition that we have,” Hurley said. “So, there’s no moral victories. There’s never a good loss or anything you feel good about when you walk out and lose by seven. It stings, it hurts, and it’s not something we’re used to at the University of Connecticut.” That said ...
“To come in here, basically with a seven-man rotation, most of which was young players ... the way we battled, Tyler (Polley’s) progression, Sid (Wilson) today ... it gives us great hope moving forward.”
Polley scored 15 of his careerhigh 20 points in the latter half, including 11 of UConn’s first 13 points and 14 of its first 18 after the break.
“I know I’ve got to be more aggressive,” said Polley, a sophomore. “I know I’ve got to shoot the ball and don’t let the misses get to me. And when I do that, good things happen.”
Wilson, in his first career start, added a career-best 16 points and three blocks. While no one wants to see injuries, especially a potential college career-ender for Adams, the silver lining is that players like Wilson, Polley, Brendan Adams, Josh Carlton — the team’s future — will get more experience.
“It’s definitely a positive for us younger guys to build on for next year,” Polley said, “get experience from games like this and getting
more games under our belts.”
“It sucks to lose,” added Hurley, “but to see your future out there playing well against some men, it was a good thing.”
Memphis (14-10, 6-5 AAC) led 48-33 after a Raynere Thornton jumper with 15:43 to play, and it appeared the Huskies were doomed to one of those ugly, 20-point losses where the entire second half essentially becomes garbage time.
Paced by Polley, UConn made some inroads into its deficit, but still found itself down 67-54 after a Kareem Brewton hoop with 6:32 to play. The Huskies responded with a 7-0 run, and continued to chip away. Wilson scored on a transition layup to get within six with 2:21 to play, and after a Memphis miss, the Huskies had a chance to make it a onepossession game.
But Smith missed a transition layup, Cobb couldn’t convert a pair of tip-ins, then fouled Jeremiah Martin, who hit one of two free throws.
Smith countered with a 3-pointer to get within four, but with 43.1 seconds left, Memphis’s athleticism may have sealed the game. Brewton missed a runner, but Thornton grabbed the rebound and jammed it home in one motion to put the Tigers back up six.
Cobb scored on an inside hoop, but Memphis (which shot 16-for-18 from the foul line for the game) sealed the deal from the charity stripe.
Christian Vital had 13 points and nine rebounds for UConn, Smith netted 13 points and Cobb had eight points and 11 boards. Carlton scored just one point before fouling out.
“We’ll give him a Mulligan,” Hurley said of the sophomore center, “because of how good he’s been.”
Davenport led all scorers with 26 points for Memphis, which jumped out to a 6-1 start and led by 14 late in the first half, before a 7-0 UConn run cut its deficit in half by the break.
“Their seniors were probably a lot more locked in than our group, that came in here with their two best players in travel suits,” Hurley noted. “I think (the Tigers), emotionally, were more ready to play. And I think it took us a little bit of time to gauge their athleticism. That took us a little time to get adjusted to. You could see that with their easy baskets they were getting early, they didn’t get as much in the second half.”
Still, the end result wasn’t a good one for a program that doesn’t have time for moral victories.
“Proud of the way we fought,” Hurley added, “but a loss is a loss.”