LAHAINA, Hawai'i — Connecticut came into the Maui Invitational without suspended point guard Marcus Williams, and star forward Rudy Gay struggled to score in the final two games.

Still, the Huskies found a way to win this rugged tournament.

Denham Brown hit a turnaround jumper with 1.1 seconds left to give No. 3 Connecticut a 65-63 victory over No. 8 Gonzaga last night in the championship game.

"This is our team and it's a pretty good one," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. "When Rudy didn't play well, Denham stepped up. There were other guys, too. We appear to be a pretty good team with a lot of answers."

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

The buzzer sounded but the officials put 1.1 seconds back on the clock and Gonzaga (3-1), which had reached the final by beating No. 12 Michigan State 109-106 in triple overtime, wasn't able to get off a shot as the buzzer sounded for real.

"It was another great game and we almost found a way to keep it going," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "UConn is a tough, tough, tough team, battled-tested and tough to score on. They contest every one of your shots."

The Bulldogs contested Brown's final shot.

"He shot a right-handed hook over a 6-8 guy. It was a great shot," Morrison said. "I didn't want to foul him so I put my hands up. All tournament it was big plays and he made a big play."

The Huskies led 63-59 with 37 seconds left on a free throw by Craig Austrie, but Gonzaga's Derek Raivio made two free throws with 26 seconds left to make it 63-61.

Gay then missed the front end of a 1-and-1 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-winner.

NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 74, NO. 9 ARIZONA 71

Michigan State capped a wild five days in Hawai'i with an overtime victory over Arizona yesterday to finish third in the Maui Invitational.

The Spartans (2-2) built a big lead only to see the Wildcats score 16 straight points to take a 60-58 lead. Paul Davis made two free throws with 30 seconds left to tie it and send the Spartans to overtime for the second straight day.

Shannon Brown, who had 19 points, gave the Spartans the lead for good at 70-68 with a jumper with 35 seconds left, and Davis and Maurice Ager each made two free throws in the final five seconds to seal the victory.

MORE TOP 25

No. 1 Duke 78, Drexel 68: J.J Redick scored a season-high 31 points and Josh McRoberts had four points during the 7-0 run that gave the Blue Devils (4-0) a 59-50 lead. That advantage never dropped below five thereafter as Duke turned back the Dragons (3-1) to advance to the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Blue Devils will play No. 11 Memphis tomorrow night for the title.

No. 5 Oklahoma 88, Binghamton 60: Taj Gray, David Godbold and Michael Neal each scored 14 points and the host Sooners (2-0) used a 13-0 run and a 29-6 surge to build a 50-31 halftime lead in rolling past the Bearcats (0-3) at Norman, Okla.

No. 11 Memphis 88, No. 16 UCLA 80: Freshman Shawne Williams scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half when the Tigers (3-0) opened a 51-34 lead in turning back the Bruins (3-1) to advance to the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York. UCLA used an 18-7 run to close to 82-76 with 42 seconds left, but Memphis made all six of its free throws in the last 25.7 seconds to seal it.

No. 21 George Washington 87, Kennesaw State 42: Mike Hall had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Carl Elliott added 14 points as the host Colonials (1-0), who were the last team in the AP preseason poll to play a regular-season game, beat the Owls (1-3) in Washington.

No. 22 Nevada 77, Vermont 62: Marcellus Kemp scored 24 points, Nick Fazekas added 20 points, and Mo Charlo had 13 points and 14 rebounds as the visiting Wolf Pack (2-0) ended the Catamounts' (0-3) 14-game home winning streak at Burlington, Vt.

WOMEN'S TOP 25

No. 13 Notre Dame 74, Indiana 61: Megan Duffy scored 26 points and Charel Allen added 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers during a 14-2 run for a 61-53 lead, and the visiting Irish (3-0) beat the Hoosiers (0-2) at Bloomington, Ind.

Mississippi 72, No. 14 Texas Tech 69: Armintie Price had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Danetra Forrest, Carla Bartee and Ashley Johnson each added 10 points to help the host Lady Rebels (3-0) beat the Lady Raiders (1-3) at Oxford, Miss.

No. 15 Stanford 89, Fresno State 67: Preseason All-America selection Candice Wiggins scored 22 points, Krista Rappahahn made all four of her 3-pointers to finish with 18 points as the host Cardinal (2-1) routed the Bulldogs (2-1) at Stanford, Calif. for their 23rd consecutive home win.

Washington 63, No. 23 Utah 56: Cameo Hicks had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the host Huskies (3-0) trailed only 2-0 and overcame a 21-point performance by the Utes' (1-1) Kim Smith in their upset victory in Seattle.

Long Beach State 51, No. 24 USC 46: Crystal McCutcheon scored 13 points, including a 3-pointer to cap an 11-3 run for a 47-43 lead with 54 seconds left, as the host 49ers (1-2) upset the Trojans (2-1) at Long Beach, Calif.