Welcome to Big East play where the play is physical and anything can happen.
Just when it looked like the UConn Huskies were going to win the game after a Ryan Boatright field goal to go up three with seconds to play, Junior Cadougan hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie it up for the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Marquette made a big three in overtime and held off the Huskies for an 82-76 win in front of 14,159 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI on New Year's Day.
The Huskies fall to 10-3 (0-1 Big East) while Marquette improves to 10-3 (1-0).
Overtime got off to a strange start as UConn won the tip and went down the court with Shabazz Napier putting up a layup that was called for goaltending on Marquette. But after the referees got together and talked, the goaltending call was wiped away as Napier had been going down the court the wrong way.
The referees admitted after the game that UConn should have been awarded the two points. But oh well, you live with what happened.
Omar Calhoun gave UConn the lead 71-69 with a three pointer but Vander Blue followed with a three and after a Huskies miss, Jamil Wilson made a layup. From there, it was a matter of making free throws for the Golden Eagles.
Napier led the way for the Huskies with game-high 29 points and eight rebounds while adding four assists. Boatright added 16 points and a game-high six assists. DeAndre Daniels chipped in with 11 points.
Davante Gardner and Cadpugan both led the way for the Golden Eagles with 18 points with Gardner adding six rebounds. Blue added 13 points while Wilson led them with seven rebounds to go along with his seven points.
Really tough loss for the Huskies who battled throughout this game. They were down 10 points twice in the second half and rallied. Then when it looked they had a win in their grasp, their hearts were broken by Cadougan.
While the loss is disheartening, you have to be proud of the way they played. They never gave up, a trait instilled by their head coach Kevin Ollie, who by the way was coaching in his first Big East game.
The Huskies will now get a week off to prepare for their next game. That will come on January 8th when they host the DePaul Blue Demons at Gampel Pavilion. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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UConn Huskies @ Marquette Golden Eagles 1.1.13 box score
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photo credit: ap photo
