HARTFORD – The UConn men’s basketball team was looking for a shot to sink Texas Friday night as the Longhorns lingered late into the second half. There were plenty of opportunities coming off of offensive rebounds, but the final momentum swing didn’t come until Alex Karaban sent Solo Ball chasing down a pass beyond the PeoplesBank Arena logo with two seconds on the shot clock.
Ball collected it, turned and set up for a 40-foot heave that hit nothing but net for his first made 3-pointer of the game. Tarris Reed Jr. pinned a layup off the backboard at the other end and Karaban was left open from the same area, only about five feet closer, for a triple in transition to put the Huskies up 11 with just over three minutes left.
“That was probably as loud as I’ve heard this building,” coach Dan Hurley said.
The lead proved to be insurmountable as the fifth-ranked Huskies held on for a 71-63 victory in their nonconference finale.
It was UConn’s 22nd-consecutive victory in the Hartford arena and sent the Huskies into Big East play with a 10-1 record after one of the toughest nonconference schedules they’ve had under Hurley.
With another clutch moment, Karaban led four in double-figures with his 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Ball had nine points on 3-for-10 shooting and Reed finished with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Braylon Mullins, making his first collegiate start, added 10 points (5-for-7) and four rebounds, and Jaylin Stewart, in his first game off the bench this season, made a number of plays on both ends of the floor to finish with 10 points.
“So proud of the team, just with what we’ve been able to do with the nonconference here with the quality of the opposition and just the adversity relative to having such key players out,” Hurley said. “We’re trying to get whole and trying to figure out our rotation, trying to get Tarris and Braylon into the flow of things and trying to get our rotation set. What great teams do is find ways to win while they’re still going through it.”
It helped that Malachi Smith was able to record nine assists off the bench for the third time this season, stepping up on a night where Silas Demary Jr. struggled.
Mullins started an early onslaught with a deep 3-pointer and a tough, contested mid-range shot along the baseline that swirled around the rim and in. The Huskies’ first-half run continued as Demary dumped off a perfect lead pass for a two-handed dunk from Ball, who had the striped-out crowd roaring after he drew a charge on the other end.
Reed established himself in the post early and showed off his passing ability as the Longhorns, led by former Xavier coach Sean Miller, tried to trap him with the ball. He found Stewart across the court for a wide open 3-pointer, then dumped down to a cutting Karaban on the next possession as assistant coach Luke Murray pumped his fist with a 10-point advantage. Reed surpassed his career-high in assists in the first half alone.
UConn made Texas pay for its poor defense that repeatedly left lanes open for cutters and saw 13 of its first 17 shots fall from the field (76.5%).
Texas cut its deficit to two with a 13-3 run with three minutes left in the half, but Reed worked his way inside for a pair of layups and Smith found Karaban for a layup to push the UConn lead to 43-34 at the break.
Smith became only the seventh active Division I player to reach 500 career assists.
“I think that’s one reason why they recruited me, just my high IQ with the great offense and plays they run,” Smith said. “They know what I can do, just making reads with the ball, playmaking, it’s kind of just natural to me. I just want to make sure I get my guys shots.”
Neither team shot the ball well to start the second half.
UConn’s spell was finally lifted when Smith fed freshman Eric Reibe for a layup to put the Huskies back up 10 with just over 11 minutes to play. Then Stewart deflected the ball at the top of the key on the ensuing Texas possession and Jayden Ross took off in transition, pulling up on the rim after a strong two-handed dunk.
Texas took 20 of its 28 free throws in the second half and steadily chipped away at its deficit, cutting it to just five with four and a half minutes to play before Ball’s heave rocked the building and Karaban nailed the dagger.
“Solo made a big-time shot, I kind of screwed him over. I didn’t realize how much time was on the shot clock and I just threw him the ball, he really saved the possession there,” Karaban said. “I think this team’s got to just create that identity where we could score, stop, score, stop and Mali made a great pass for me to really execute (that). I love those types of shots.”
UConn will begin Big East play back in PeoplesBank Arena on Tuesday night, when it hosts Butler at 8:30 p.m. (Peacock/NBC Sports Network). Putting opponents away earlier will be the focus heading into league play.
“The ’23 and ’24 teams that I’ve been a part of, we’re up 10, we’re up 12, we’re not giving Texas a hope to come back. Those teams would’ve put the hammer down and just made it a 12-point game to 16 at the next media (timeout), to 20 and just kept going,” Karaban said. “I think that’s the next step… We’ve just got to continue to play at a high level defensively.”
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