Connecticut Has Enough in Reserve : Big East: Second-stringers spark Huskies, who oust Georgetown and will face Syracuse in tournament final.

When they met at game’s end, Georgetown’s John Thompson offered Jim Calhoun a handshake and a compliment that will forever ring sweetly in the Connecticut coach’s memory.

“Magnificent,” Thompson said simply.

Thompson knew. So did Calhoun and anyone else who ventured into Madison Square Garden and saw Connecticut defeat favored Georgetown, 65-60, in the first of two Big East tournament semifinal games Saturday.

While the second contest, a 73-61 Syracuse victory over Villanova, featured artistry--Derrick Coleman had 25 points, 23 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Orangemen--it lacked drama and a certain emotion. In contrast, the Huskies’ win lacked very little, certainly not heroes, of which there were many.

Begin with sophomore center Dan Cyrulik, a 7-foot-1 lug who usually spends two-thirds of most Connecticut games on the bench. Against Georgetown and its twin office buildings, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo, Cyrulik was good for six points, seven rebounds and 21 minutes.

Good thing, too, since the Huskies needed every one of the precious baskets and minutes after starting center Rod Sellers’ knee was injured less than two minutes into the game.

Cyrulik’s day didn’t start well. He was called quickly for a foul and 30 seconds later, was called for traveling. Mourning did his part, chiding him at every opportunity.

“He’s going to try to talk to you,” Cyrulik said. “But you’ve got to give it back to him. If he senses weakness . . . “

All Mourning could have sensed Saturday was resolve. Cyrulik didn’t fold, though he did tire. That’s when Calhoun sent freshman Toraino Walker into the game. Walker, who usually averages about six minutes a game, responded with seven rebounds, 17 minutes and four points, almost all of which came in the second half.

“He dominates our practices,” guard Tate George said of Walker. “When we scrimmage, the blue team (Connecticut’s second-stringers) pretty much wipes us out two out of every five times.”

Together, Cyrulik and Walker sent Alonzo into mourning and Mutombo to oblivion. Mourning could manage only 12 points and Mutombo just four.

Connecticut’s plan was simple enough: double-team Georgetown’s big men, especially Mourning, and force the Hoyas to make their points from the outside. In fact, there on the Huskies’ locker room blackboard was the message:

Mourning--frustrated by double downs.

Mutombo--body him outside.

And then, at the very bottom of the blackboard was scribbled:

Believe in us.

Yes, well, this was a fine scheme when Sellers was available, but an improbable one when he limped off the court and spent the remainder of game with his knee packed in ice.

“No question we thought the game would change with Rod out of there,” Calhoun said.

But for the better?

It was less than two weeks ago that Georgetown beat Connecticut by 20 points at the Capital Centre. Saturday, under favorable circumstances, the Hoyas scored only 24 points the entire second half. Not surprisingly, it would be their undoing.

For 8 minutes 11 seconds, Georgetown couldn’t score a basket. An eight-point lead became a six-point deficit.

Mark Tillmon ended the dry spell with a desperation three-point shot that clanked off the backboard and into the hoop. Georgetown trailed, 53-50, with 4:38 remaining.

The Hoyas wouldn’t score another field goal until 24 seconds were left in the game. Instead, they had to settle for three free throws and, ultimately, a loss.

“Nobody’s crying in our locker room,” Thompson said. “That’s a difficult team for us to play against. We were beaten by a very good team.”

Villanova’s Rollie Massimino found himself issuing similar praise to Syracuse and the multi-talented Coleman, who had more than half of the Orangemen’s rebounds and more than one-third of their points. He dominated the game in almost every respect.

“Coleman was just so terrific for them,” he gushed.

Even Villanova center Tom Greis, a senior who has logged considerable time against Syracuse, said it was “the best I’ve seen him play.”

And this from the guy who scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Saturday.

“Derrick played a great game,” he said. “Nothing else needs to be said.”

Coleman set a Big East tournament single-game rebounding record and tied a conference single-game record with Danny Schayes, another Syracuse man who now plays for the Denver Nuggets. Coleman’s reaction?

“Nothing,” he said. “Another milestone.”

Coleman said he “struggled” in the first half, which is sort of true. He was three of 10 from the field, but already he had 10 rebounds. “Rebounds are just heart and desire,” he said.

As expected, Villanova tried to slow the game down to a manageable pace. It worked before, as the Wildcats were the only Big East team to sweep Syracuse this season.

And it worked again, at least, for the first half. The Orangemen scored only 27 points and led by just five. It was exactly what Massimino had hoped for and exactly what Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim feared.

Villanova made its run shortly thereafter and with 15:06 left in the game, the Wildcats were ahead by one, 32-31.

Then Syracuse broke free, doing what it does best, which is run and score off the fast break. The Orangemen grabbed the lead about a minute later and never glanced back.

“For me, it felt kind of different,” guard Stephen Thompson said. “We haven’t been able to do that for so long.”

Now on to today’s Big East final, where Connecticut awaits. Coleman casually predicted an afternoon to remember.

“I think you should just look for a great ballgame,” he said.

After Saturday’s performance, nobody was doubting the claim.