UConn men survive scare from Georgetown for milestone win

STORRS – The UConn men’s basketball team survived a major scare late and held on for a 79-75 win over Georgetown on a milestone Saturday night at Gampel Pavilion.

The Huskies led by seven with 33 seconds left when KJ Lewis rose up for a 3-pointer and Tarris Reed Jr. made contact with his arm, fouling out of the game as the four-point play cut the Hoyas’ deficit to three at the 24-second mark. Then Lewis snatched the inbound pass to get possession and UConn fouled up three. Kayvaun Mulready made one of two from the stripe and Alex Karaban pushed the lead back out to four, sealing the game from the opposite stripe with 10 seconds to play.

It was fitting that the captain made the decisive shots to become the winningest player in program history, surpassing Samson Johnson with 116 victories over his career. A four-year starter, Karaban also broke Jake Voskhul’s record with his 136th start on Saturday.

“When I first came to UConn, I was worried about playing. Like, just getting out there and making an impact. And to now be an all-time winningest player at a program like UConn, it’s a special program, it’s a historic program, it’s had so many legends, so many great winners. To have my name at the top of that list is special,” Karaban said. “I’ll forever be blessed for all of the teammates I’ve had, I’ll forever be blessed to play for the best coaching staff that’s made it easier to get those wins, too.”

With his free throws, the Huskies improved to 24-2 on the year and 14-1 in the Big East with their 12th consecutive win over Georgetown.

Two banners. 116 wins, and counting.

One legendary career. pic.twitter.com/q9PiyzMZAI

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 15, 2026

“All (Karaban’s) done is won and come up with clutch performances, and he almost didn’t play today. He’s been dealing with a leg thing where he did not do much the last two days and then just gutted it the hell out today,” coach Dan Hurley said. “Today was about, for me, Alex’s greatness. Just his greatness and who he is… Just thrilled to be able to get out of here with a win.”

Karaban only took one shot in the first half but scored 13 of his 18 points in critical moments after the break. He added three rebounds and two steals.

On a night where UConn’s centers combined for just three rebounds, Silas Demary Jr. hauled in his 10th board of the night off the offensive glass with two minutes left and drew a foul that led to two critical free throws that put the Huskies up six. He finished the game an assist away from his second triple-double of the year with 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

“I was just trying to get the win,” he said. “They kept clawing back into the game as we were trying to extend the lead, but I wasn’t too aware of (the triple-double), I was trying to just get a win.”

It was also a milestone night for junior Solo Ball, who reached the 1,000-point mark for his career with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. He is the fifth player on UConn’s roster to reach 1,000 career points, joining Karaban and Alec Millender, who hit the mark prior to this season. Demary reached the milestone on Jan. 24 and Reed on Feb. 6.

There were five Huskies who finished in double figures Saturday night as freshmen Braylon Mullins and Eric Reibe added 10 points a piece.

“Eric, with Tarris putting himself in foul trouble in a variety of ways and just having a game where you get four points, one rebound from your starting center, obviously if Eric doesn’t step up the way he did today, we don’t win the game,” Hurley said.

After chucking up their second-worst 3-point performance (5-for-26) of the season when they met the Hoyas in Washington, D.C., the Huskies’ first six shot attempts came from beyond the arc on Saturday.

This time they fell through the net (7-for-17 in the first half) as Mullins started the game from the corner and Ball followed suit, then Karaban and Mullins again before Reibe finished the team’s first two-point try five minutes into the game.

The Hoyas answered with five 3-pointers of their own in the first half but did most of their damage inside and tied the game at 25 before Ball answered with his second 3-pointer of the game. He went on to score 10 points during a 12-3 run as the Huskies opened up a nine-point lead in the final minutes of the half.

UConn had a 41-33 lead at halftime when Hasheem Thabeet, who Jim Calhoun called one of the two greatest shot-blockers he’s ever coached (along with Emeka Okafor) saw his No. 34 unveiled in the Huskies of Honor.

Reibe, subbing in after Reed picked up his third foul less than 20 seconds into the second half, scored a pair as the Huskies came out of the break on an 8-2 run and pushed their lead to 14.

Then Mulready, a career 27.9% 3-point shooter, “was like Steph Curry,” according to Hurley, on his way to a career-high 15 points.

He made a pair of 3s and cut the Hoyas’ deficit to six before Ross finished inside and found Karaban in the corner with a no-look pass. Ball followed with a transition 3, his fifth of the game, which got him to 1,001 points for his career and gave the Huskies a 12-point cushion.

Georgetown made six of its first 10 3-pointers in the second half. There was a shot from Malik Mack that bounced above the shot clock before falling through the net, which Karaban answered with his fourth triple of the game, only to be answered by Lewis on the other end.

Karaban almost had a costly turnover on an inbound play with 14 seconds left, but the Huskies fouled up three and Mulready split his free throw attempts, setting up the game-clinching freebies from the Huskies’ captain.

“We’ve had a great season,” Hurley said. “If we don’t fix our (stuff) though, we’re not gonna have a championship season.”

Outside of Reibe, the Huskies only got two points from the three other players who came off their bench (Ross, Jaylin Stewart and Malachi Smith).

“The bench performance, that’s not on me,” Hurley said. “I’ve said this a million times: the easiest thing for me to do is distribute playing time. And if players don’t look like they’re ready – these games have major ramifications for us, and if you don’t look like you’re ready to play, I’ve got to get you off the court.”