Tigers  55    Huskies  81

Recap: Connecticut vs. L-S-U

Sports Network | November 25, 2009

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker each scored 20 points, as 13th-ranked Connecticut had its way with LSU, 81-55, in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Connecticut (4-0), which outscored the Tigers (3-1) 21-6 on the fastbreak, will play Duke in the tournament's final on Friday. The seventh-ranked Blue Devils pulled out a 64-53 win over Arizona State in the other semifinal.

Stanley Robinson recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Gavin Edwards added 15 and seven in the most lopsided win for the Huskies this season.

"We've been waiting since the exhibition season for us to have a breakout a little bit," Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun said. "It was the first time that I saw Connecticut play this year in a regular season game. We were aggressive. We did a terrific job defensively."

LSU's leading scorer, Bo Spencer, hit just 2-for-15 from the floor for five points. Storm Warren led the Tigers with 15 points despite battling foul trouble most of the game.

"Obviously that was a pretty good basketball team and they were very well prepared and ready to go," LSU head coach Trent Johnson said of UConn. "I was very disturbed by the transition baskets that we gave up early."

Connecticut held an early 13-10 lead before Walker's steal and layup ignited an 8-0 run near the 13-minute mark.

The Huskies kept pounding the ball down low to stay -- scoring 26 points in the post in the first half -- and Walker hit a three and two free throws in the final minute for a 45-29 lead at the break.

After trading layups to open the second half, Dyson hit a trey and added a three-point play the old fashioned way on the next possession to make it a 22- point game, 53-31, 2 1/2 minutes in.

Dyson, who scored 17 points in the second half later hit a jumper coming out of a timeout and a layup in transition to push the margin to 67-38 with 11 minutes to play. The Huskies coasted from there.

This was LSU's first visit to MSG since an 83-77 win over Army all the way back in 1978...The Tigers earned victories over Indiana State and Western Kentucky in the first two rounds of the tournament last week...Dyson also grabbed eight rebounds, as the Huskies won the battle on the glass, 47-34...Tasmin Mitchell scored nine points for LSU.