The UConn men’s basketball team defeated playoff-bound Seton Hall 71-67 on Senior Day behind Alex Karaban’s 23 points. The fourth-year Husky ended the game 5-of-6 from 3-point range and hit two free throws to put the game away.
The win improved UConn’s record in the Big East to 27-3 and 17-2. The Huskies remain the top seed ahead of St. John’s in the conference, which also has Villanova, Georgetown and Seton Hall in the tournament.
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Karaban had one of his best games of the year during the pregame ceremony and earned Huskies Honor Team honors. He played the full 40 minutes and scored a career-high 23 points. Solo Ball scored 14 points and Talis Reed Jr. had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double in four games.
For Seton Hall, AJ Staton-McRae led the Pirates in scoring with 20 points on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown, and Najai Hines came off the bench to record a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. They led for 20 minutes in this game, with 11 draws and 18 lead changes.
UConn was without Jaylin Stewart for the second straight game, opening up more opportunities off the bench. Jaden Rose performed well, scoring 7 points and hitting a three-pointer.
Silas Demary led 68-65 with 15 seconds left, but Bud Clark hit a 3-pointer and Silas Demary fouled on a nearly perfect shot. When Clark threw an air ball, the umpires didn’t see enough contact. UConn then won the game by making 20 of 29 free throw attempts.
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Unlike Wednesday night’s game against St. John’s, this game got off to a slow and foul-filled start, with just 23 points totaled in the first 10 minutes. Reed Jr. got into action early on the defensive end and blocked a shot. Seton Hall showed why they lead the Big East in blocks, notching three in the first 10 minutes. UConn’s Braylon Mullins had several open looks, but the freshman just couldn’t bring them down.
The tempo of the game picked up when Jaden Rose came off the bench, sinking his first shot from downtown and then followed up with a wide-open low shot. Seton Hall stayed on the ball and Tajuan Simpkins hit a 3-pointer of his own. Karaban scored in double figures with his first shot from beyond the arc with 6:30 left and another two minutes later, giving the Huskies eight consecutive points.
The two teams were playing at a similar pace and had led 16 times in the first half. Both teams defended very tenaciously, each causing 6 turnovers.
Najai Hines’ buzzer-beater gave Seton Hall a 33-32 lead at halftime. Karaban scored 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting from long range and 6-of-8 shooting from the field.
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After going 0/3 scoreless in the first half, Solo Ball took the lead early in the second half. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, but UConn committed nine turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half, allowing Seton Hall to hold a 42-40 lead with just over 15 minutes left. After his 3-pointer, Ball took things a little too far, making questionable shooting decisions and turning the ball over.
This has been an ongoing issue this season. Ball took a few pitches and decided to take a loose approach. We saw this in the loss to Arizona, with a fiery 3-pointer late in the game that led to a score on the other end.
The Buccaneers ended their drought by holding UConn without a field goal for more than four minutes on a 2-and-1 from Eric Reibe. Mike Williams responded at the other end, hitting his third 3-pointer to take a 51-46 lead with 10:30 left. In the second half, Staton McCray hit a long shot, and Seton Hall expanded the score to 12-3, giving the Pirates an 8-point lead. It was the senior’s fourth 3-pointer, raising his tally to 16 points on the day.
At that time, Seton Hall shot 8 of 12 from three-point range and shot 67%. This was completely opposite to the 1 of 16 shooting in its first meeting with UConn.
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After UConn’s timeout, Karaban scored the first points of the half, hitting his fourth triple to cut the Buccaneers’ lead to four points and force a Seton Hall timeout.
The senior refused to lose, calling a warm-up check to cut the lead to one with six minutes left, and who else but Braylon Mullins hit a 3-pointer to give UConn the lead. Seton Hall missed eight straight shots until Staton McCray made a tough layup over two Huskies defenders.
Elijah Fisher stepped up for the Buccaneers, hitting a clutch corner 3-pointer with 3:23 left and a smooth jumper to tie the game at 63 with 2 minutes left.
With a minute left in the game, Solo Ball’s possession seemed to be spoiled as he was fouled and reached the charity stripe with a 66-65 lead. Silas Demary forces a shot from Adam Clark. Karaban then hit two free throws to take a 68-65 lead with less than 25 seconds left.
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The only knock on the afternoon was a turnover. UConn’s Seton Hall scored 14 points on 15 turnovers. When you prepare for March, you have to give it your all, and if you can’t take care of the basketball, the Huskies could fall behind in the NCAA tournament.
UConn will take a week off and visit last-place Marquette on March 7. Fox has set game time at 12:30 p.m. The Huskies will then travel to New York for the Big East Tournament, which begins on March 11.
