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No. 6 UConn rallies past Seton Hall

Feb 6, 2011 - 4:14 AM Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - It was another big upset in the making for Seton Hall, but the Pirates blew a 14-point second-half lead and lost to No. 6 Connecticut, 61-59, at the Prudential Center.

Just 11 days ago, the Pirates went into the Carrier Dome and dominated then No. 9 Syracuse, winning by 22 points. They were primed for another victory against a top-10 team on Saturday, but went over eight minutes without a field goal late in the second half and lost to the Huskies for the 11th straight time.

Kemba Walker scored 19 points and canned the go-ahead shot from beyond the top of the arc with 2 1/2 minutes remaining for the Huskies (18-4, 6-4 Big East), who snapped a two-game skid. Jeremy Lamb added 10 points in the victory.

Jeremy Hazell had 20 points for the Pirates, but his potential tying three- pointer was blocked by Alex Oriakhi in the waning seconds. Jeff Robinson tallied 15 points for Seton Hall (10-14, 4-8), which has lost back-to-back contests. Hazell and Robinson each had 11 rebounds, but the Pirates were just 10-of-34 shooting in the second half.

Hazell's jumper expanded Seton Hall's five-point halftime lead to 50-36 with just under 14 minutes remaining. Robinson's layup had the advantage at 56-46 with 8:12 to go, but the Pirates went stone cold from the field the rest of the way.

Walker's three-point play started UConn's monumental spurt and his shot from the top of the arc went through for a 58-57 lead for the visitors with 2:32 left.

The Pirates continued to falter as Hazell missed a breakaway layup with under two minutes left, but the Huskies couldn't lock down the win right away as they faltered on three shots during an extended possession and Roscoe Smith committed a turnover on a held ball with 38.3 seconds on the clock.

Robinson then missed a layup, leading to a pair of Smith free throws with 19.3 seconds to go for a 60-57 difference.

Hazell was then had his three-point try swatted away by Oriakhi, who was fouled intentionally by Herb Pope on a break out at the other end with 3.7 seconds left. A made free throw essentially sealed the win, although Fuquan Edwin made a layup for the Pirates with 1.8 seconds to go.

Seton Hall shot 45.5 percent in the opening half, on the way to a 37-32 edge at the break.

Game Notes

The Huskies have won 28 straight regular season games against the three Big East teams in the tri-state area, Seton Hall, St. Johns and Rutgers...Lamb has seven straight double figure efforts...The Pirates are just 1-17 all-time against teams ranked No. 6 in the nation. Their lone victory came on January 26, 1992, a 68-64 victory over Ohio State. Seton Hall is 66-217 all-time against teams ranked in the AP Top-25, including 1-6 this season.