Calhoun Only Half Pleased

Although Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun got his 100th victory in the Hartford Civic Center on Monday, he around for only half of it.

A stomach virus forced Calhoun to leave in the second half of No. 2-ranked Connecticut’s 83-56 victory over Sacred Heart (Conn.). Assistant coach Dave Leitao took over in Calhoun’s absence as the Huskies (10-1) won their 10th in a row.

Calhoun called the win a “workmanlike job,” but would have preferred to see more passion from his team.

“This team has gotten awful good by playing with a sense of purpose. That was just a little bit lacking. We rely on passion,” he said.

Calhoun missed two games last season because of stomach problems--an early-season victory over Hartford and a first-round game in the NCAA tournament against Texas San Antonio.

Albert Mouring led the defending national champions with 15 points in their final game before Big East play. Khalid El-Amin had 13 points, all in the second half.

No. 20 Oklahoma 67, Lamar 63--Eduardo Najera scored 25 points and made two free throws late to help the Sooners (12-1) close out nonconference play with a win at Norman, Okla. Lamar is 6-5.

WOMEN

No. 2 Tennessee 113, No. 21 Old Dominion 55--Semeka Randall scored 21 points and Tamika Catchings had 19 to lead the Lady Vols (10-1) at Knoxville, Tenn. Old Dominion is 7-3.

No. 3 North Carolina State 79, No. 9 North Carolina 72--Tynesha Lewis and Monica Bates combined for nine three-point baskets at Chapel Hill, N.C. Kaayla Chones had a career-high 20 rebounds as Wolfpack (12-0, 3-0) beat the Tar Heels (9-3, 1-1) for the fourth consecutive time in an ACC game.

No. 14 Duke 79, Maryland 61--Georgia Schweitzer scored 25 points as the Blue Devils (13-1, 2-0) beat the Terrapins (8-4, 0-2) in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

No. 19 Tulane 91, Southern Mississippi 77--Salome Hector came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points and lead the Green Wave (12-0) past the Golden Eagles (6-6) at New Orleans.

No. 20 Mississippi State 90, Pepperdine 80--LaToya Thomas had 20 points for the Lady Bulldogs (11-0) at Malibu. Freshman Damaris Hinojosa had a career-high 24 points and six rebounds for Pepperdine (6-6).

No. 22 UC Santa Barbara 75, Nebraska 66--Kristi Rohr scored 18 points to lead the Gauchos (10-3) to past the Cornhuskers (6-5) at Santa Barbara.

No. 25 Boston College 66, Holy Cross 42--Nicole Conway came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points at Boston to lead the Eagles (12-3). Holy Cross is 8-4.