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Walker, Huskies dispatch Hoyas in Big East tourney

Mar 9, 2011 - 11:01 PM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Kemba Walker turned in a game-high 28 points with six rebounds as No. 21 Connecticut dispatched No. 22 Georgetown, 79-62, in second-round action of the Big East Tournament.

Jamal Coombs-McDaniel had 12 points and Jeremy Lamb added 11 for the Huskies (23-9), who advanced to take on top-seeded Pitt in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The victory gave UConn head coach Jim Calhoun his 300th Big East win.

"We had answers today to different situations and I think that's one of the ways you win basketball games," said Calhoun.

Jason Clark poured in 23 points for the Hoyas (21-10), who severely impaired their NCAA Tournament hopes with a fourth straight loss. Austin Freeman tallied 20 points and Hollis Thompson contributed 10 in a losing effort.

"We are a confident team. We know we can win (and) what we have to do to win games so we need to just get back on track," said Georgetown head coach John Thompson III.

Hollis Thompson's trey pulled the Hoyas even at 15-15, but the Huskies used a long run to take control of the contest for good.

Roscoe Smith responded from long distance to give UConn a three-point edge, then Coombs-McDaniel connected from beyond the arc to make it 23-15. Walker and Coombs-McDaniel sank back-to-back buckets and it was 29-19, then Lamb's slam and lay-in sandwiched around a layup from Charles Okwandu capped the surge at 37-22 with 3:41 left before halftime.

UConn took a 42-30 lead to the break after Clark's bucket ahead of the buzzer.

Walker's jumper with 13:18 to play pushed the UConn edge to 54-38 and Georgetown had nothing left in the tank to cut into its deficit.

Okwandu's dunk with just over four minutes left pushed the lead to 71-54 and the Huskies cruised the rest of the way.

Game Notes

UConn won both meetings this season against the Hoyas, which included a 78-70 decision on February 16...Okwandu had six points...Georgetown recorded just six assists against 16 turnovers and shot 38.5 percent in the second half.