We may have seen Lance Stephenson’s official coming out party Wednesday night.
In a nationally televised game against No. 10 UConn, Stephenson hit two free throws with .7 seconds left to give Cincinnati a 71-69 home victory in the Big East opener for both clubs.
A highly touted freshman from Brooklyn, Stephenson dribbled into the lane in the final seconds and was fouled by Gavin Edwards at the buzzer. After a review, the officials put .7 seconds on the clock. Stephenson hit both and finished with 21 points.
“[In the] Xavier game I took a bad three-point shot, and I felt like Coach said I needed to drive the ball,” Stephenson said. “Today I did that, and it worked. And we won the game. Yeah, I think I got fouled. He forced me left, so I spun and the big man ran into me. I knew there was one second left and I knew there was a foul.”
Stephenson appeared to draw contact on the perimeter from UConn’s Jerome Dyson but the refs whistled Edwards for the foul on the interior. Alex Oriakhi was behind Edwards and ultimately blocked Stephenson’s attempt.
“First off, my congratulations to Lance Stephenson for making the two foul shots at the end of the game,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “He stood up and did it. You aren’t going to get everything to work the way you want it to. Thus we go home with a loss, which is not the way you want to start in the BIG EAST.”
The Bearcats (9-3) had lost all five previous games against the Huskies (9-3). Cincinnati led by 11 points before the Huskies made a late run, tying it on Kemba Walker’s 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds remaining.
Dyson scored 24 points and Stanley Robinson added 22 for UConn.
It’s a little early to be talking about NCAA Tournament resumes, but keep in mind that the Bearcats have now beaten three Top 25 teams in Maryland, Vanderbilt and UConn.
Stephenson will play three of his next five games back home in the New York area. The Bearcats visit Rutgers on Saturday before returning home for two games with Pitt and Cal State Bakersfield. Stephenson then comes back to the New York area for tilts with Seton Hall at the Prudential Center (Jan. 9) and St. John’s at Madison Square Garden (Jan. 13). These games and this Big East season will go a long way in telling NBA scouts what they want to know about Stephenson.
“He is a talented kid. He can score,” Calhoun said. “He is strong, nice body, and he competes. He steps up in a rough spot, which is hard.”
Read my story on Lance from a week ago here.
(Photo courtesy AP)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
