LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Dan Hurley fell. So did UConn.
Hurley, the often-fiery coach of the two-time defending national champions, was livid over an over-the-back call in the final minute of overtime in what became No. 2 UConn's 99-97 loss to Memphis on Monday in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
The foul was called on UConn's Liam McNeeley on an offensive rebound in what was a tie game with 40.3 seconds remaining. Hurley dropped to his knees and got a technical foul, and Memphis' PJ Carter made all four free throws — two for the personal, two for the technical — to put the Tigers ahead for good.
With that, UConn's 17-game winning streak dating back to last season was over. The fireworks were not.
“I had a lot of issues with what went on out there in the game,” Hurley said. “That over-the-back call at that point of the game, there was no attempt to block out. There was a player on Memphis that made a half-assed effort to rebound that basketball and Liam McNeely high-pointed that rebound. For that call to be made at that point of the game was a complete joke.”
Hurley then offered an explanation for his falling-to-the-floor move.
“I don’t know what happened. I might have lost my balance by the absurdity of the call, or maybe I tripped,” Hurley said. “But if I made that call at that point, I would have ignored the fact that I was on my back. If I made that call, I would have ignored that. I would have ignored that. That was a major, obviously, a major ... how you could call that while that game was going on, the way that game was going on is just beyond me.”
Hurley added that he didn't know one of the officials was a college ref and indicated displeasure with the other two on the game as well.
“I’ve never seen the one ref before. I didn’t even know he was a college ref,” Hurley said. “And I’m familiar with the other two, so I’m not surprised.”
His technical was one of two that sent Memphis to the line for free throws in the game; the other was about 4 minutes into the game when a team trainer apparently said something that referees heard and didn't like.
“It got off to a bad start when my medical trainer, who must have said something under his breath in a huddle, gets T’d up in the huddle in the first couple minutes or whatever that was in the game,” Hurley said. “A trainer who’s just the nicest guy, very quiet guy. Might have muttered something under his breath in a normal situation.”
And a third technical — Samson Johnson was whistled as part of a double-technical, but it was his fifth foul and forced him from the game midway through overtime — was costly as well.
“Samson was getting shoved. His jersey was ripped. He didn’t get a foul called for him the entire game,” Hurley said. “He ended the game with his jersey ripped down the center, but they get him on every call. He’s frustrated. That was crazy, man. Crazy.”
For his part, Memphis coach Penny Hardaway — who did get a handshake and warm embrace from Hurley after the game — called it the biggest win of his coaching career.
“That was back-to-back national champions, undefeated, first round of the Maui tournament,” Hardaway said. “When we first got picked to play them, I was like, ‘OK, starting off with a bang.’ I just got our team prepared. I used it as motivation.”
Add it all up, and UConn lost for the first time since a loss to Creighton on Feb. 20. Memphis led most of the game Monday and UConn rallied from 13 points down in the final 4 minutes of regulation, but the Tigers got 40 free throws to the Huskies' 24.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game,” UConn's Alex Karaban said. “That was the game plan. We knew they wanted to make it physical. It wasn’t surprising us that it was physical, we just had to match their toughness, and for most of the game we didn’t. That’s just on us.”
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley huddles with his team, including guard Solo Ball (1), forward Liam McNeeley (30) and forward Alex Karaban (11) before facing Memphis in an NCAA college basketball game at the Maui Invitational Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
UConn head coach Dan Hurley reacts on the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Memphis at the Maui Invitational Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
SAO PAULO (AP) — A trove of leaked audio recordings from late 2022 reveal high-ranking members of Brazil 's army discussing efforts to pressure then-President Jair Bolsonaro to carry out a coup and remain in power.
The 53 audios, obtained by the Federal Police and accessed by The Associated Press on Monday, provide a rare chance to hear military members expressing in their own voices their desire to keep leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the police's sprawling investigation, quoted some of those audios in his ruling last week ordering the arrest of five people for plotting the assassination of then-President-elect Lula in 2022 and then attempting to oust him from power on Jan. 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters destroyed government buildings in capital Brasilia.
Audios from one former army officer — who was not among those de Moraes ordered arrested last week — are particularly supportive of a coup, and weren't referenced in de Moraes' order.
Col. Roberto Raimundo Criscuoli, a former subcommander of the army's special forces, told retired Brig. Gen. Mario Fernandes, who was then second in command at the general secretary of the presidency, that the far-right leader had a clear choice after Lula won his third, non-consecutive term.
“It will be either a civil war now or civil war later. We have a justification now for civil war; people are on the streets, we have massive support,” Criscuoli said in one of the audios. “Let's do this now. Speak to 01.”
01 is a common reference to Brazil's president.
Neither the former president nor his ministers are heard speaking in the recordings. The audios are not directly related to the Nov. 21 formal accusation by Brazil's police that Bolsonaro and 36 others attempted to stage a coup.
The Brazilian army did not respond to a request for comment about the Federal Police investigation.
Bolsonaro frequently cast doubt on the election results without providing any evidence and never conceded. He left for the United States days before Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2023 and stayed there for months, keeping a low profile. The top electoral court has ruled Bolsonaro ineligible to run for president until 2030 for abuse of power, and he is also the target of several investigations for a slew of potential crimes.
Other audios are less explicit in their wording about the urgent need for a coup. In a voice message to Gen. Fernandes, Col. Reginaldo Vieira de Abreu used an expression frequently repeated by Bolsonaro to argue the country's constitution should be ignored.
"We are at war, they are winning. It is almost over and they haven’t fired a single shot. It is because of our incompetence,” he said.
In an audio from Dec. 8, Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Mauro Cid, is heard telling Gen. Fernandes that time was running out to keep his boss in office.
“On the 12th... It would have to be before the 12th, right?” Cid said, referencing the day that the electoral court would certify Lula's victory. “I will speak to the president. The thing is his personality sometimes. He waits, waits, waits, waits to see where it is going. To see who supports him. But sometimes time is short, right? We can't wait much longer.”
De Moraes' arrest order last week makes reference to Cid's comment, but it did not include his full statement.
Cid was already under house arrest, after having signed a plea bargain deal with authorities last year. His testimony has helped authorities collect evidence in different cases targeting Bolsonaro and some of his key aides, including Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro's chief of staff and running mate for reelection.
In the audios, Gen. Fernandes, who was among those de Moraes ordered arrested last week, repeatedly claimed Brazil’s presidential election had been rigged for Lula and insisted the military high command should be pressured to aid Bolsonaro's cause before his leftist rival assumed power.
“Any solution, you know, will not happen without breaking eggs," he said. "We have to go for it. We have popular support.”
Thousands of Bolsonaro followers camped outside army facilities to pressure military leaders to side with the then-president. Media reports at the time said there was not enough support in the high command for a coup. Bolsonaro supporters only returned home after the Jan. 8 riot, upon orders from the newly installed army commander.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Former President Jair Bolsonaro arrives to speak with the press after being formally charged by the federal police with attempted coup, at the airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press after being formally charged by the federal police with attempted coup, at the airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
