UConn drops UK in National Championship
April 8, 2014
By Nick Gray | Basketball beat writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — When the Cats needed one rebound, one Julius Randle layup or one Aaron Harrison 3-pointer, they could not get it.
And so it goes that the Cats lost 60-54 to UConn in the National Championship game in AT&T Stadium. Their NCAA Tournament script did not produce the same fruitful ending.
UK came back from 15 points down in the first half to just a four-point deficit at halftime. They had shifted to a zone defense to corral Huskies senior guard Shabazz Napier and junior guard Ryan Boatright. The pair scored 23 of UConn’s 35 first-half points.
Similar to the Cats’ prior four games, a large first-half deficit was no match by the time the second half began. UK kept cutting into the Huskies’ lead, but did not have one last run to finish the deal.
The Huskies limited UK freshmen twin guards – Aaron and Andrew Harrison – to 6-of-16 shooting with seven turnovers.
Boatright and Napier, who were shorter but quicker than the Harrisons, shut down driving lanes, which forced the pair to shoot more 3-point attempts (nine) than 2-point attempts (seven).
Freshman guard James Young scored 20 points, making 8-of-9 free throws.
Besides Young, UK made 5-of-15 free throws. UConn made all 10 of its free throws.
An 8-0 run, spearheaded by a Young dunk brought UK within one point. But the Cats did not break UConn’s stranglehold on the lead throughout the rest of the game.
Three-pointers by Napier and senior guard Niels Giffey answered UK’s run and dragged the Huskies’ lead to two possessions with five minutes to play.
Down eight points, Randle had a chance to cut into the lead with less than two minutes left in the game with a layup that hit the back of the rim and rolled out.
On UConn’s next possession, the Huskies grabbed an offensive rebound and ran the clock down. UConn was the only team in the NCAA Tournament to outrebound the Cats.
UK elected to play out a final defensive possession that produced more free throws for UConn in the end.
A pair of 3-point attempts by Aaron and Andrew Harrison did not fall as UK made one basket in the final 3:47.
That last point differs from the Cats’ final minutes of the last four games in the tournament, where Aaron Harrison and Young hit 3-pointers to lift UK to the lead.
But on Monday, the shots of the past were just that – history.
