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Walker comes through as Huskies nip Longhorns in OT

Jan 9, 2011 - 12:07 AM Austin, TX (Sports Network) - Kemba Walker hit the game-winning shot with five seconds left in overtime to lift eighth-ranked Connecticut to a scintillating 82-81 victory over 12th-ranked Texas at the Erwin Center.

Walker, the leading scorer in the country, managed 22 points on 8-of-27 shooting and added nine rebounds. Shabazz Napier supplied 15 points for the Huskies (12-2), who won their first true road game of the season.

Alex Oriakhi contributed 11 points and a career-best 21 rebounds while Roscoe Smith added 13 points and six boards for Connecticut, which leads the all- time series, 5-2.

Jordan Hamilton collected 20 points and 11 rebounds and J'Covan Brown ended with 20 points for the Longhorns (12-3), who had a 27-game non-conference home winning streak snapped.

Walker's desperation three as the shot clock was about to expire put UConn ahead 80-77 before Corey Joseph answered with a short jumper to cut the lead to one with two minutes left in the extra session.

Hamilton's baseline jumper with 1:15 remaining put the Longhorns back in front.

Each team missed on its next possession before Walker had a shot blocked out of bounds with 19 ticks remaining. Off the inbounds pass, Walker moved toward the bucket and then stepped back to nail his game-winner from the left of the foul line.

"The play was for me to go one-on-one at the top of the key," recalled Walker. "If I didn't have the shot I was going to kick it out to the perimeter, but I was fortunate enough to get a little space and made the shot."

Texas raced the ball up the floor and called timeout with 2.8 seconds to go. Joseph caught the ball on the right wing, but his attempt to tie the game fell short, allowing the Huskies to escape with their third win of the season over a ranked opponent.

"I came off the screen and Kemba [Walker] and Roscoe Smith double-teamed me," Hamilton said of the final possession. "That's when it got swung to Cory [Joseph] and it was a good contest by the UConn player."

Napier banked home a three from 28 feet to give the Huskies their first lead since midway through the first half at 58-56 with just over 10 minutes to go in regulation. A Walker free throw and Smith tip-in extended the lead to five with 8 1/2 minutes remaining.

Another Napier three pushed the lead to 68-59 with six minutes to go prior to Hamilton answering with one of his own to slice the deficit to 68-64 a minute later.

Thompson's driving hook shot cut the UConn lead to 70-69 with 2;41 to play before Brown hit a pullup jumper off the glass with 92 seconds left to put the hosts back in front.

Walker countered with a reverse layup and subsequent foul shot with 1:14 to go to give the Huskies a 73-71 lead. Texas missed two shots on its next trip, but Brown was fouled and drained a pair at the line to tie the game with 46.6 ticks left.

Walker missed a driving layup on UConn's next trip before Oriaki blocked a Johnson shot with 10 seconds to go. Smith then grabbed the loose ball and heaved it the length of the floor out of bounds, not realizing how much time was left.

Texas took over underneath its own basket with seven seconds left. Brown missed a pull-up jumper from the foul line to send the game into overtime.

Brown's jumper ignited a 9-0 spurt that gave the 'Horns a 29-20 edge with just under six minutes remaining in the opening half. Walker was held scoreless until he hit a layup and a trifecta on consecutive possessions to pull the Huskies to within 33-29 with 1:32 to go before the break. Two foul shots by Corey Joseph with eight seconds left gave Texas a 37-32 lead at the half.

Game Notes

UConn upended then second-ranked Michigan State and eighth-rated Kentucky to claim the Maui Invitational Tournament title...Napier made 6-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long distance...UConn shot just 38.1 percent and took 16 more shots than Texas...The Huskies had only 10 assists on 32 made buckets...Hamilton made 8-of-16 shots, including 3-of-7 from three-point territory...Johnson hit 6-of-8 from the line for Texas, which made only 14-of-23 at the stripe.