Okafor leads Huskies over pesky Hampton

WASHINGTON -- Most of the sellout crowd was roaring, hoping for a chance to see for themselves a repeat of the celebration that became a TV highlight staple a year ago.

		It was not an easy victory for the Huskies against Hampton. Steve Merfeld's team tried to duplicate last year's shock-city when they knocked of the No. 2 seed, Iowa State, in the opening round. The Big East tournament champs got solid performances from Caron Butler -- 29 points and nine rebounds -- and diaper dandy Emeka Okafor who had 15 rebounds, 12 points, five blocked shots and hit six of seven from the floor. Okafor is important and makes a difference because he changes opponents' shots and is a true Windex man on the glass.

No. 15-seeded Hampton was closing in on another No. 2, looking to make Connecticut this season's Iowa State.

The Huskies, however, improved their defense over the final three minutes and closed the game with a 7-0 run for a 78-67 victory Friday in the first round of the East Regional.

"First thing: If that's a 15, what's a 14 or a 13 look like?" a very relieved Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "We had them put away three, four times in the first half, but there was no quit in them. I am unbelievably impressed with them.

"Down the stretch, I know everyone was rooting for David, but I was pulling for Goliath."

Last year, the Pirates stunned Iowa State 58-57 to become just the fourth 15th-seeded team to win a first-round game. The postgame celebration, with coach Steve Merfeld swinging his arms and legs wildly while being picked up from behind by a player, became one of the most repeated film clips in NCAA Tournament history.

"We never felt we were going to lose that game, not before it, not during it, not now," said Tommy Adams, who led the Pirates with 23 points. "It's tough dealing with the loss, but Connecticut made stops when they had to."

Against Big East champion Connecticut (25-6), Hampton got within four points three times in the second half.

The last time the Pirates (26-7) were that close was 71-67 with 3:08 to play on a dunk by Adams after a Connecticut turnover.

Most of the crowd of 17,725 was cheering for the Pirates to pull off a major upset for the second straight year.

No fans were cheering harder for the Pirates than those from North Carolina State, which would face the winner of the game in the second round Sunday. The seventh-seeded Wolfpack beat Michigan State 69-58.

But the Huskies won their 10th straight game overall and made Calhoun 10-0 in NCAA first-round games by shutting down Hampton on its final five possessions.

"We got stops when we needed them at the end," said Caron Butler, who led the Huskies with 21 points. "Hopefully we won't face a team like that again."

Johnnie Selvie added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Connecticut, while Emeka Okafor had 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. The Huskies finished with a 43-34 rebounding advantage over the Pirates, who played at least three guards at a time.

"They are such a tough matchup," Calhoun said, "especially when they go four guards and make you play everybody 1-on-1."

Adams, the player of the year in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, led the Pirates with 23 points, while Isaac Jefferson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"We could never get over the hump, because they kept making plays down the stretch," Merfeld said. "We put ourselves in too much of a deficit in the first half."

Merfeld was asked if he thought about last season's win over Iowa State when the Pirates got within four points of Connecticut.

"That never entered my mind," he said.

Connecticut -- 7-1 in the MCI Center, including 3-1 this season -- led 46-35 at halftime after shooting 58.6 percent (17-for-29).

Hampton was back in the game in a hurry, getting within 53-49 on Adams' 3-pointer with 14:58 to play.

The Pirates struggled from long range in the first half, going 4-for-11 on 3s, but made five of their first nine from beyond the arc in the second half.

David Johnson, the player who carried Merfeld off the court last season, had nine points, including an impressive dunk in the second half.

"We came out here to perform, to give people their money's worth," Johnson said. "I don't think anyone went home disappointed but us in this locker room."