Alex Karaban scored 18 points, including a crucial 3-pointer in the final minutes, as No. 5 UConn defeated Texas 71-63 on Friday in Hartford, Conn.
The Huskies (10-1), who have won six in a row, led by nine at halftime. The Longhorns (7-4) got to within 61-56 on a pair of free throws by Matas Vokietaitis with 4:30 left but Solo Ball and Karaban canned 3-pointers on successive possessions, the latter with 3:23 to play, to push UConn’s advantage to 11.
Texas trimmed its deficit to 69-63 after a layup by Tramon Mark with 34 seconds left. A dunk by Jaylin Stewart with 29 seconds remaining stoked UConn’s lead back to eight and all but sealed the win.
Tarris Reed Jr. added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists for UConn while Braylon Mullins and Stewart finished with 10 points apiece.
Jordan Pope and Mark led the Longhorns with 15 points each. Texas shot just 37.7% from the field while allowing UConn to shoot 54.7%.
The Huskies led 13-7 after a Ball dunk at the 15:27 mark capped an 8-2 run. Texas answered, making it 16-13 when Pope canned a 3-pointer with 13:16 left in the first half, but UConn swung back, rebuilding its advantage to 25-16 on a layup by Reed with 10:22 to play until halftime.
After the Huskies pushed the lead to 12 on a dunk by Stewart with 7:05 left, Texas reeled off nine of the next 10 points, clawing back to 33-29 on a Simeon Wilcher steal and dunk. The Longhorns pulled to within two on Pope’s second-chance layup with 2:54 left but UConn finished the half on an 8-1 run to carry a 43-34 lead into the break.
Karaban led all scorers with 11 points before halftime while Mullins and Reed added eight each for the Huskies. UConn shot 68% from the floor in the half and scored 24 of its points in the paint.
Pope paced Texas with nine points but the Longhorns went the final 2:54 of the half without a field goal, shooting 43.3% over the first 20 minutes.
The Longhorns pulled to within six on two occasions early in the second half and to 51-44 after a free throw by Lassina Traore with 14:35 remaining.
