"The Steal" | The Night UConn's Dom Perno Swiped the Ball from Princeton's Bill Bradley

Before Dan Hurley, before Jim Calhoun and Kevin Ollie and before Dee Rowe, Dom Perno and Burr Carlson, came UConn men's basketball coach Fred Shabel. From Duke University, no less.
The Connecticut university with six NCAA national men's basketball championships - three with Calhoun, one with Ollie and two with Hurley - first reached the Eastern Region Final 60 years ago. Along the way UConn first defeated heavily-favored Princeton University in a historic March 13, 1964, Eastern Region second-round game at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, NC. Some avid UConn fans, sportswriters and former UConn players say the stunning win sparked the beginning of UConn's Huskymania.
That game saw UConn guard Dom Perno steal the ball from Princeton's All-American forward Bill Bradley with seconds remaining to seal a 52-50 win in the NCAA Eastern Region semi-final game, a first in school history.
Perno had sunk two foul shots with 32 seconds remaining to give UConn the two-point lead. The upset victory made national headlines and propelled the Shabel-led team to national prominence.
March 2024 marked the 60th anniversary of "The Steal" - The Night Dom Perno stole the ball from Bill Bradley."
*On April 8, 2024, Coach Dan Hurley's UConn men's basketball team defeated Purdue University 75-60 to earn its second consecutive NCAA Division I championship.
It was the program's sixth national title, tying UConn with North Carolina for third all-time for most titles, behind UCLA with 10 and Kentucky with eight.
This is the story:
Music:
Never Let Go · Jakob Ahlbom
℗ Epidemic Sound
Producer: Jakob Ahlbom
Composer: Jakob Ahlbom
Music Publisher: Jakob Ahlbom

[@stever1791]

Fred Shabel was a great influence on the Penn's Basketball run from 1969 to 1973. he allowd Coach Dick Harter to recruit players like Dave Wohl, Corky Calhoun, Bob Morse, Phil Hankinson, Steve Bilsky, and several other greats - The Penn 1971 was the best ever in the Big 5 . Thanks Fred RIP

[@user-fx1xq6qh4z]

Another great feature... Don Perno is one of the finest people one would ever hope to meet and is a legend in New Haven...As a player, coach and person there is none better. We took a swimming course together at Southern CT. State College and I remember he didn't like the water... Even though Bill Bradley was only one year older than me he was and still is my sports idol...one of the five best College players of all time. Keep these features coming John, they are a must see for New England sports fans. Gary Liberatore.

[@johnmason3174]

Thanks Gary - much appreciated 🏆👍

[@jeremycrandall2899]

If that happened today and the ball was stolen with 19 seconds left and UConn ahead by 2, it would be absolutely insane for Princeton not to foul, stop the clock and hope UConn missed the free throws. I guess that not too many teams at that time had thought of intentionally fouling in that situation, kinda like how nobody in the NFL thought of the Victory Formation until The Miracle In The Meadowlands.