Gordon's 37 points helps Huskies whip Wolf Pack

STORRS, Conn. — Ben Gordon scored a career-high 37 points and Emeka Okafor grabbed 14 rebounds Wednesday night to lead No. 1 Connecticut to a 93-79 victory over Nevada and into the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.

Denham Brown had a career-high 22 points for the Huskies (2-0), who will play the winner of Thursday's Georgia Tech-Hofstra second-round game. The semifinals are in Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 26.

Gordon was 12-of-20 from the field and hit all four of his 3-point attempts, rescuing the Huskies time and again from the stubborn Wolf Pack (1-1). With Gordon out after picking up his third foul, Nevada cut a 15-point deficit to nine on Todd Okeson's 3-pointer with three minutes to play in the game.

Enter Gordon.

The junior coolly stroked a 3-pointer and the Huskies had all the breathing room they would need. Brown converted a three-point play on the Huskies' next possession to cap the scoring.

Okafor finished with 13 points and had solid help in the post from freshman Josh Boone, who finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Huskies dominated inside, outscoring Nevada 42-28 in the paint and had a 42-29 rebounding edge.

Kirk Snyder led Nevada with 22 points and Okeson added 16.

The Huskies struggled early, trailing by as many as seven points. But the game turned after UConn coach Jim Calhoun drew a technical foul when Okafor was called for his second foul with 7:52 remaining in the first half. The move fired up the Huskies, who had been clinging to a two-point lead.

With Okafor on the bench the rest of the half, Gordon took over. He scored 13 points in a 20-12 run and Connecticut led by as many as nine before taking a 43-37 halftime lead.

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