Connecticut Too Much for Gonzaga

Denham Brown made a turnaround jumper with 1.1 seconds to play to give No. 3 Connecticut a 65-63 victory over No. 8 Gonzaga on Wednesday night in the championship game of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.

The Huskies (4-0) were able to win for a second straight game with star forward Rudy Gay struggling offensively. Brown, center Hilton Armstrong and freshman forward Jeff Adrien all stepped up to fill the void, none bigger than Brown, who made the winning shot over Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison and J.P. Batista.

The buzzer sounded but the officials put 1.1 seconds back on the clock and the Bulldogs (3-1), who had reached the final by beating No. 12 Michigan State, 109-106, in triple overtime, were unable to get off a decent shot as the buzzer sounded.

The Huskies, who beat No. 9 Arizona, 79-70, in the semifinals, led, 63-59, with 37 seconds left on a free throw by Craig Austrie. Derek Raivio of Gonzaga made two free throws with 26 seconds left to move the Bulldogs to within 63-61.

Gay’s shooting woes continued on the free-throw line as he missed the first of a one-and-one with 25 seconds left.

Gonzaga came down court and Morrison had two shots blocked by Armstrong, who finished with five blocks. However, Gay fouled Batista on the rebound of the second shot with 6.6 seconds to go.

Batista made both, setting the stage for Brown’s game-winning shot.

No. 5 Oklahoma 88, Binghamton 60 -- The Bearcats (0-3) created problems for the Sooners early at Norman, Okla. with a collapsing zone defense, but Oklahoma took charge with a 13-0 run. Binghamton shot 38% from the field and was outrebounded, 40-22.

No. 12 Michigan State 74, No. 9 Arizona 71 -- The Spartans (2-2), playing only 18 hours after leaving the Lahaina Civic Center following the loss to Gonzaga, beat the Wildcats (1-2) in overtime in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational.

Shannon Brown’s basket gave the Spartans the lead for good at 70-68. Then, after Arizona freshman Marcus Williams missed two free throws with 8.5 seconds left, Paul Davis made two more free throws with 5.8 seconds left.

No. 21 George Washington 87, Kennesaw State 42 -- The Colonials (1-0), playing without suspended star Pops Mensah-Bonsu, had no problems at Washington against the Owls.

Mensah-Bonsu is sitting out three games for rules violations related to his early declaration and withdrawal from the NBA draft.

Kennesaw State (1-3), which won the 2003-04 Division II championship, moved up this year to the Atlantic Sun Conference.

No. 22 Nevada 77, Vermont 60 -- Marcellus Kemp scored 24 points to help the Wolfpack (2-0) extend its road winning streak to 11 games and, in so doing, end the Catamounts’ 14-game home winning streak. Martin Klimes led Vermont (0-3) with a career-high 24 points.

No. 23 Maryland 75, Arkansas 62 -- After the Razorbacks (2-2) pulled to within 53-50 with 6:39 to play, Ekene Ibweke made two free throws to start a 13-3 run that gave the Terrapins (3-1) control in the fifth-place game at the Maui Invitational.

Chris McCray, who had five points during the run, scored 12 points during the last 5:08.

OTHER GAMES

Matt Haryasz, who sat out Stanford’s season-opening loss to UC Irvine on Saturday because of a sprained ankle, scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots to lead the Cardinal to a 71-56 victory over San Francisco at Palo Alto.... Demetrius Brown scored a career-high 26 points to lead San Jose State (3-1) to a 79-68 victory over visiting San Diego (1-2), giving the Spartans their best start in five years....Kansas (2-2) beat Chaminade, 102-54, in the seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational, handing the Silverswords (0-3) their worst loss in the tournament they host. The Jayhawks (2-2) used a 26-2 run to take a 82-39 lead with 7:04 left.