Hamilton Hits Milestone In Uconn’s Win

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Richard Hamilton scored 29 points and passed the 1,000-point mark in his career Monday night as No. 7 Connecticut defeated Big East rival Villanova 80-65 in men’s basketball in Hartford, Conn.

Hamilton, the Big East’s second-leading scorer at 21.4 points a game, has 1,009 career points, joining Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks as the only two players in Connecticut history to surpass 1,000 in their sophomore seasons.

Khalid El-Amin had 17 points and Kevin Freeman had 11 for the Huskies (20-3, 10-2).

Howard Brown led Villanova (9-11, 6-6) with 17 points.

El-Amin scored seven points in a 13-5 run at the start of the second half. Three minutes later, Connecticut led 57-41 when Hamilton converted two free throws on a flagrant foul and then hit a 3-pointer on the inbounds play.

(21) Xavier 91, La Salle 59

At Philadelphia, James Posey scored 21 points and the Musketeers (15-5, 7-3 Atlantic 10) made 11 of their first 12 shots in a victory over the Explorers (7-12, 3-7).

Posey added nine rebounds and five steals as the Musketeers won for the seventh time in nine games. Lenny Brown had 18 points and Darnell Williams 15 for Xavier.

La Salle has lost two straight after winning its previous three. Donnie Carr led the Explorers with 18 points and Victor Thomas had 16.

Xavier missed only two of its first 16 shots in building a 36-26 lead. The Musketeers shot 69 percent (22 of 32), including 5 of 8 from long range, in taking a 52-35 lead at the half.