UConn does it again

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two Sweet 16 games between Washington and Connecticut, and two heart-breaking defeats for the UW.

In 1998, it was Richard Hamilton giving UConn a one-point victory. This year, it was Rashad Anderson sinking a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

In both cases, Connecticut sent Washington home standing on the precipice of the biggest win in the program’s history.

Washington, which played for nearly 7 minutes of the second half with Brandon Roy on the bench in foul trouble, saw an 11-point lead disintegrate and fell to Connecticut 98-92 in overtime Friday at the Verizon Center. With the win, top-seeded UConn (30-3) advanced to play 11th seed in the Elite Eight Sunday, with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

For Washington (26-7), the loss leaves it still waiting to move into the final eight for the first time since 1953. It was the fourth-straight time the UW has lost a Sweet 16 game. For the second time, Connecticut left Washington feeling completely empty.

“I’m so proud of our guys,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They can’t look back and say, ‘If I only would have tried a little harder.’ They gave it all they had. My only regret is that (the seniors) weren’t able to advance to experience how awesome it is to participate in the Final Four.”

Even with the shock of finding itself in overtime after leading by 11 early in the second half, Washington still was in the game late in overtime before UConn literally stole the game away.

Trailing 94-89, UW’s Ryan Appleby sank a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to get Washington within two. Appleby then stole the inbounds pass and passed to Joel Smith. But Smith’s cross-court pass to Roy was intercepted by Marcus Williams and Roy fouled out grabbing Williams. Williams made both foul shots and a long Brandon Burmeister 3-point attempt was off.

“I saw Appleby get the steal and he pulled it out like they were trying to hit the dagger and put us away,” Williams said. “I knew they were trying to find Roy. I glanced over to see where he was and broke over there.”

That Washington was even in the game after playing extended minutes without Roy and seeing most of its other regulars in serious foul trouble was remarkable. Washington was called for 33 fouls, four players fouled out and two others finished with four fouls. That allowed UConn to go 34 for 47 from the foul line.

With 13:48 to go in the game, Roy was called for a holding foul – his third – and then went chest-to-chest with UConn’s Rudy Gay briefly after Roy said Gay elbowed him in the stomach. Both players were assessed technical fouls, giving Roy four fouls and sending the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year to the bench with Washington ahead by eight. The UW immediately began to fall apart, allowing Connecticut to go on a 10-2 run in which Anderson made two 3-pointers, and UConn tied it on two Gay free throws with 12:05 to go.

“I fell out of rhythm,” Roy said of his time on the bench. “I haven’t sat out that long in the second half in a long time. Guys were playing hard, they’re giving their all. I’m upset and disappointed in myself that I let them down. It gave UConn a chance to make a run and gave them confidence.”

“Overall, there was a period when we lost our composure,” Romar said. “That was a stretch when the game, the momentum, shifted. It wasn’t just Brandon’s technical, it was a lot of things.”

Jamaal Williams did his best to keep Washington in it, scoring 15 of his career-high 27 points in the final 12:40 of regulation. Williams made a 3-pointer from the top of the key – his first three of the season on only his second attempt – to give the UW a 78-72 lead with 1:55 left in regulation. Anderson got UConn back within two with a 3-pointer with 34 seconds to go but freshman Justin Dentmon made two free throws with 21 seconds left to extend the lead back to four. UConn’s Marcus Williams countered with a three-point play in which Mike Jensen fouled out on, but Roy answered with two free throws with 7.9 seconds to go for an 82-79 Washington lead.

Marcus Williams took the ball down court, penetrated then passed out to Anderson on the right wing. The 6-foot-5 senior let go with Appleby in his face, but made the 3-pointer to tie it with 1.8 seconds to go.

Appleby had a 3-point attempt at the buzzer that went off, and the game went into an extra period.

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said he was impressed with Washington’s defensive pressure, which forced 26 UConn turnovers, including 19 steals by the UW.

“No team has disrupted us as much on offense as Washington,” Calhoun said. “They can get to a Final Four with their effort, their effort was extraordinary. …Nobody has done what they did to us.”

Still, it wasn’t enough for Washington, which got 20 points from Roy, 11 from Jon Brockman and 10 from Appleby. UW, which led 45-40 at halftime after leading by as many as 10 in the first half, now must figure out a way to sustain its success without the services of Roy, Williams, Bobby Jones and Mike Jensen.

“If we didn’t prove it to ourselves today that we can play with the best teams in the country on a neutral site, you’re not a believer,” Roy said. “We played them hard for 45 minutes. They asked me a question the other day: Can we win if UConn plays great? And I think they played a really good game and we showed everybody that with 3 or 4 seconds left, we were beating a great team.

“Then they hit a great shot and in overtime they made plays. We made a lot of people believers.”

UConn 98, Washington 92 (OT)

Washington (26-7) – Jones 4-8 0-0 9, Brockman 4-6 3-4 11, Jensen 1-6 0-0 3, Roy 7-18 5-7 20, Dentmon 2-9 4-5 8, Smith 1-4 2-3 4, Burmeister 0-1 0-0 0, Appleby 3-6 2-2 10, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 12-22 2-2 27. Totals 34-80 18-23 92.

Connecticut (30-3) – Boone 3-4 7-13 13, Gay 4-10 4-5 12, Armstrong 4-4 5-9 13, Williams 6-13 11-11 26, Brown 4-6 2-2 12, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Adrien 0-0 0-0 0, Austrie 0-2 2-3 2, Garrison 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 6-12 2-2 19, Nelson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 27-51 34-47 98.

Halftime–Washington 45-40. End Of Regulation–Tied 82. 3-Point Goals–Washington 6-20 (Appleby 2-4, Williams 1-1, Roy 1-2, Jones 1-3, Jensen 1-5, Burmeister 0-1, Smith 0-1, Dentmon 0-3), Connecticut 10-19 (Anderson 5-10, Williams 3-5, Brown 2-3, Gay 0-1). Fouled Out–Dentmon, Jensen, Jones, Roy, Smith. Rebounds–Washington 38 (Williams 7), Connecticut 42 (Boone 11). Assists–Washington 9 (Dentmon, Roy 3), Connecticut 15 (Williams 8). Total Fouls–Washington 33, Connecticut 20. A–19,638.