UConn keeps it close ... again

Jim Calhoun wanted no part of the timeout discussion with 10:11 remaining in the first half. The coach had signaled for the break - his team holding onto a 20-15 lead over Colgate in Monday's NIT Season Tip-Off first round matchup at Gampel Pavilion - but he didn't have anything to say. He wandered out to the top of the key before gesturing for his assistant coaches to run things.

Calhoun's silence spoke volumes, as the shakiness from UConn's too-close-for-comfort opener against William & Mary had carried into the first period against the Red Raiders. Until Kemba Walker zipped a pass in to Gavin Edwards that Edwards slammed home with 33 seconds left to give the Huskies a 33-32 edge, Colgate had actually held the lead for a good portion of the first.

A 21-5 UConn run in the second helped restore order. Keyed by the interior efforts of Edwards, a brilliant all-around stretch by Stanley Robinson and a good group showing from the three-point line, the Huskies (2-0) advanced to the quarterfinals of the preseason tournament with a 77-63 victory. They'll take on Hofstra with a trip to Madison Square Garden on the line, but Calhoun isn't sure they'll get there with the way their first two outings have gone.

"I have no explanation for how we played," Calhoun said. "It's a continuation of the other night, except we played 10 minutes where [Robinson] turned it on. We played in a few bursts. If we do that tomorrow night, we will not be going to New York."

Most troubling to Calhoun was the way an undersized Colgate squad was able to match UConn in the physicality department. The Huskies only managed to outrebound their guests by a margin of two at 29-27.

"Giving all the respect to the kids from Colgate, who really worked their butts off and played hard, it's getting pushed around by 6-4 kids, 6-2 kids, 6-1 kids," Calhoun said. "And taking it."

Freshman guard Jamal Coombs-McDaniel buried three three-pointers in the first half to lift his teammates, but after the full-court press paid dividends early for UConn, they went away from it. The result was a solid perimeter half from the Red Raiders that put the Huskies behind until the closing seconds.

In the second, the veterans took over for UConn. Walker finished with 16 points and six assists in a much more productive showing from the point. Edwards chipped in with 14 points to go along with 5 boards. The story however was Robinson, who went a perfect 8-for-8 from the field with a pair of late three's to end up with a game-high 18. He rose high above the rim, as he often does, to reel in lob passes and convert rebounds into the acrobatic put-back slams that have become his signature.

Robinson, while pleased with his own performance, was mindful of the Huskies' struggles through the first two games, echoing his coach's assertion that they aren't playing anywhere near their talent level to this point.

"We aren't doing too good," Robinson said. "We have to get it together. We have to play team basketball. As of right now, we're not playing to our capabilities. We're not doing what we're supposed to be doing."