Feb. 21, 2005

Notre Dame at Connecticut Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Charlie Villanueva matched his career high with 25 points and sophomore point guard Marcus Williams was a rebound shy of a triple-double in No. 17 Connecticut’s 88-74 victory over Notre Dame on Monday night.

The Huskies (18-6, 10-3 Big East) won for the sixth time in seven games and lifted Jim Calhoun within two wins of becoming the sixth active coach with 700.

Williams finished with 17 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. He entered the game averaging a Big East-best 7.9 assists and he added in some solid defense against Chris Thomas, who had 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting for the Fighting Irish (16-8, 8-6).

Williams keyed the Huskies’ 9-2 run in the first half that gave them a 31-23 lead with 7:19 left. He scored on two drives in the run and had a nice pass to Villanueva for a three-point play.

The Huskies led 45-32 at halftime after shooting 56 percent from the field. The Irish closed within eight points early in the half at 49-41, but they were never closer than 10 points in the final 5 minutes.

Villanueva had a rough game in the first meeting of these teams, a 78-74 Notre Dame victory. He was 2-for-8 from the field and had six points in that game. On Monday, he was 9-for-14 from the field and had four rebounds and four blocked shots.

When Notre Dame got to 53-44 with 14:40 left, Villanueva scored the Huskies’ next eight points as the lead went back to 61-46 with 12:08 left.

Denham Brown, who had a season-high 20 points in the first game against Notre Dame, had 18, and Josh Boone added nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Colin Falls led Notre Dame with 19 points, all but one on 6-for-10 3-point shooting, while Torin Francis had 15, and Chris Quinn 12.

The loss dropped Notre Dame to 1-5 in its last six road games, but the first four losses were by a total of 11 points.

The Irish close the regular season with three home games – UCLA, Rutgers and No. 18 Pittsburgh – and need at least two victories to avoid worrying about an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

This was Connecticut’s fourth straight game without leading scorer Rashad Anderson. The Huskies’ leading scorer (13.8) was released from the hospital Monday after being treated for an infection in his leg. He sat on the bench in street clothes and there is no set date for his return.

JIM O’CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer