HARTFORD, Conn. – Maine’s Ted Woodward says he learned a lot about coaching when he was an assistant to Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun, not the least of which was timing.

Nearly everyone in attendance watching the Black Bears battle UConn on Thursday night was shocked when Calhoun called time out five seconds into the second half. But Woodward, who coached under Calhoun from 1986-89, barely raised an eyebrow.

Additional Photos

Maine guard Andrew Rogers drives against Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier during Thursday’s game in Hartford, Conn. Maine lost to the reigning NCAA champs, 80-60. The Associated Press

“I do believe I’ve seen that once before a long time ago,” Woodward said. “So I wasn’t surprised.”

Maine was within five points of the Huskies at halftime, but Calhoun’s renewed efforts to motivate his team apparently worked, as UConn pulled away for an 80-60 victory.

Freshman guard Justin Edwards scored 20 points for Maine (1-1).

Playing without its best player — senior guard Gerald McLemore missed the game because of a knee injury — Maine trailed the defending national champions 36-31 at the half. But UConn (3-0) went on a 23-2 run to start the second half, after Calhoun’s uniquely timed stoppage in play.

“We couldn’t quite break the ice scoring a basket in the second half,” said Woodward, whose team missed its first 13 shots from the floor in the second half. “We were stuck on 33 forever.”

Calhoun complained of a lack of energy, despite having five Huskies score in double figures.

Alex Oriakhi had 16 points and eight rebounds, Jeremy Lamb also scored 16 points, and freshman DeAndre Daniels added 15 for UConn (3-0).

(7) FLORIDA 91, NORTH FLORIDA 55: Kenny Boynton scored 20 points as the Gators (2-1) beat the Ospreys (2-2) at Gainesville, Fla.

(16) ALABAMA 62, MARYLAND 42: Tony Mitchell scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Crimson Tide (3-0) over the Terrapins (1-1) in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, (19) TEXAS A&M 60: Dee Bost scored 20 points as the Bulldogs (3-1) beat the Aggies (2-1) in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic at New York.

SYRACUSE: Just two weeks after Penn State was rocked by a child sex-abuse scandal, ESPN reported that police were investigating an assistant basketball coach at Syracuse on allegations of child molestation.

Shortly afterward, Syracuse placed longtime assistant Bernie Fine on administrative leave “in light of the new allegations and the Syracuse City Police investigation,” the school said.

“We are in the very early stages of an investigation,” Sgt. Tom Connellan told The Post-Standard in Syracuse.

Connellan told the newspaper that police received information on the case Thursday but would not say who provided the information.

ESPN reported that Fine is accused of molesting a former Syracuse ball boy, who is now 39. The alleged victim told ESPN the abuse occurred at Fine’s home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and on team road trips, including the 1987 Final Four.

Fine is in his 35th season as an assistant to Jim Boeheim.

FOOTBALL

(9) VIRGINIA TECH 24, NORTH CAROLINA 21: Logan Thomas threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, leading the Hokies (10-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) past the Tar Heels (6-5, 2-5) at Blacksburg, Va.

UAB 34, (22) SOUTHERN MISS 31: Ty Long kicked a 38-yard field goal with 3:04 left as the Blazers (3-8, 3-5 Conference USA) upset the Golden Eagles (9-2, 5-2) at Birmingham, Ala.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

(1) BAYLOR 83, (22) UCLA 50: Brittney Griner had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Odyssey Sims scored 22 points as the Bears (3-0) set up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the preseason WNIT championship game.

Baylor will host No. 2 Notre Dame on Sunday.

(2) NOTRE DAME 98, HARTFORD 43: Skylar Diggins and Natalie Novosel each scored 22 points to help the Fighting Irish (3-0) rout the Hawks (2-1) at South Bend, Ind.

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