UConn Gets Call, Stuns Arizona

Down eight points at home with 3:10 to play usually means a lot of sad faces and hunched shoulders when the building clears.

No. 15 Connecticut, with the aid of a controversial goaltending call with 1.8 seconds to play, closed Saturday's game against No. 5 Arizona with a 12-2 run for a 71-69 victory that set off a student stampede onto the court at Gampel Pavilion.

"We were down eight in our own building after giving them two easy hoops," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "We called a timeout, settled in and ended up making some good plays."

The last of those plays was a drive to the basket by Tony Robertson that was blocked off the backboard by Arizona center Loren Woods. Referee Rich Ballesteros called it goaltending, however, replays showed the block appeared to be good.

"I don't goaltend shots," said Woods, the preseason All-America who playing in his first game of the season after a six-game suspension for accepting aid from a family friend. "I feel if I can block a shot I'll block a shot. That's what I thought. The ref had a different angle."

"I only heard. ... I've had people tell me, I haven't seen it yet, and the word I got was that it was worse than terrible," he said.

The final call didn't take away from the impressive closing run for Connecticut (7-1), which won its sixth straight.

Richard Jefferson, who missed the Wildcats' last game because of a one-game suspension for accepting NBA Finals tickets from Hall of Famer Bill Walton, the father of teammte Luke Walton, scored on a layup and a dunk - the easy baskets Calhoun referred to - to give Arizona (6-2) a 67-59 lead with 3:10 left.

Johnnie Selvie scored on a loose rebound to start Connecticut's 7-0 run that was capped by freshman point guard Taliek Brown's three-point play with 1:18 left.

Woods made two free throws with 1:03 left to make it 69-66.

Albert Mouring, Connecticut's leading scorer at 19.4 points who was limited to 17 minutes because of foul trouble, then nailed a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to tie it at 69. He was 2-for-6 from the field in his foul-plagued minutes before tying the game.

"That was a big shot," Robertson said. "Without that shot we wouldn't have been in a situation to win that game. That was the game-winning shot to me."

Arizona, the preseason No. 1 team playing with a full roster for the first time this season, then committed a 35-second shot clock violation. Michael Wright, who led the Wildcats with 18 points and 10 rebounds, did get a shot off with 12 seconds left but it was blocked by Selvie and the clock expired as the ball went toward the sideline.

"I just came through with the block and my teammates saved it," Selvie said. "And we just played from there."

That led to Robertson's drive and the goaltending call.

"I didn't know about the call until we were in the huddle and they said don't give up the 3," Robertson said. "I was like, 'All right, it was a basket.'"

Arizona had one last chance and Woods caught a long inbounds pass, turned and shot but it missed at the buzzer and the Connecticut crowd stormed the court for the first time in the 11 years Gampel has been opened.

It was the second game Olson has missed in his 18 seasons at Arizona as back trouble kept from being at a home win over La Salle in December 1994. He didn't make this cross-country trip to stay with his wife, Bobbi, who is receiving ongoing treatment for ovarian cancer.

"Obviously I missed Lute for the reason he wasn't here," Calhoun said. "I talked to him and he said the procedure went well but it's been a long, difficult process."

Gilbert Arenas had 14 points for Arizona, while Jason Gardner had 10. Woods finished with nine points on 3-for-12 shooting in 34 minutes and had two rebounds.

"I couldn't produce today and that's why we lost the game," said Woods, who missed the last month of last season because of back problems that required surgery. "I put two more buckets in the basket and then we win."

Roseborough was impressed with Woods' first game since last February.

"I thought Loren did a relatively good job," he said. "He challenged shots. He blocked shots. For the layoff and what he's been through he did a good job but I know he is really disappointed."

Freshman Caron Butler led the Huskies with 16 points, while Robertson had 14 and Selvi added 12.

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