Adrien, Thabeet push UConn to finish line in win over West Virginia

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/07/2009 - Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The inside presence of Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet was took much for No. 25 West Virginia to handle, as the pair of Huskies combined for 30 points and 20 rebounds in fifth-ranked Connecticut's 61-55 victory in a classic Big East tussle.

Adrien posted 17 points, while Thabeet logged 13 points and 13 rebounds for UConn (13-1, 2-1 Big East), which has bounced back with back-to-back conference victories after its lone loss to Georgetown last week.

Stanley Robinson's 15 boards aided the Huskies' 52-33 edge on the glass, while Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

De'Sean Butler battled foul trouble for most of the contest but scored 13 points for West Virginia (11-3, 1-1), which fell to 5-1 at home and had its five-game winning streak stopped. Alex Ruoff was held to 4-of-16 shooting from the field for 13 points, while Darryl Bryant had 11 points in the loss.

It was a five-point margin in favor of the Huskies with less than three minutes to go. WVU's Cam Thoroughman connected on a tough bucket in the lane, and Bryant hit two free throws with 2:27 left to cut the deficit to 56-55.

After a UConn free throw and unsuccessful possessions for both clubs, Thoroughman had a chance to tie it at the stripe, but the big man was off the mark on the front end of a one-and-one.

The Huskies took over with less than a minute remaining, and Dyson drove the right lane and made a running layup for a four-point UConn lead. Ruoff's rushed three-pointer on the ensuing possession fell by the wayside, and the visitors held on for the win.

Neither team held a margin larger than four points in the opening 20 minutes.

A 10-2 run by Connecticut late in the first half turned a four-point deficit into a four-point lead, 25-21, around the four-minute mark. But Wellington Smith connected on a trey a good ten feet behind the three-point line to pull West Virginia even, 29-all, at the intermission.

The second half was much of the same with neither team able to take complete control.

Smith threw down a slam in transition to cap six straight WVU points with less than 14 minutes showing on the clock. The 42-38 lead didn't last long, however, as Craig Austrie's dunk capped a mini UConn run over a three-minute span for a 45-44 advantage for the visitors.

After some back-and-forth baskets, Dyson broke a 47-47 tie with a free throw, while Adrien and Thabeet each followed with a layup that made it a five-point game at the six-minute mark.

Game Notes

Dating back to the 1962-63 season, WVU and UConn have now met 17 times, with the Huskies coming out on top in 13 of those encounters...Smith had nine points and eight rebounds in the loss...WVU hit 9-for-12 from the free throw line, while the Huskies were a so-so 18-of-27 at the stripe.

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