Solo Ball scored a career-high 23 points to help No. 19 UConn avoid back-to-back home losses by earning an 80-78 overtime victory against Butler on Tuesday night in Hartford, Conn.
UConn (14-5, 6-2 Big East) was coming off Saturday’s 68-63 loss to Creighton that ended the program’s 28-game home winning streak.
Butler trailed 80-78 when Ball missed a free-throw attempt with nine seconds remaining in OT. Jahmyl Telfort missed a 3-point shot with three seconds left and then missed another 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Bulldogs.
Butler (8-11, 1-7) led 73-70 in overtime, but UConn scored the next eight points to take a five-point lead. The Huskies led 80-76 following Tarris Reed Jr.’s basket with 20 seconds to play, but Butler made it a two-point game on Telfort’s layup with 10 seconds remaining.
Telfort led all scorers with 25 points. Finley Bizjack added 17 points, and Andre Screen finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds.
UConn squandered a 10-point lead with 12:46 left in the second half. Butler clawed back with a 24-12 stretch that included nine foul shots. The Bulldogs took a 68-66 lead with 2:06 to go on Landon Moore’s two free throws.
UConn pulled even on an Alex Karaban jumper with 1:43 left in regulation. That basket capped the second-half scoring.
Karaban was a game-time decision with an ankle injury he suffered in Saturday’s loss to Creighton, but he was cleared to play. He compiled 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the win. Reed had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Samson Johnson also scored 14 points.
Karaban scored a game-high 21 points (four 3-pointers) when UConn beat Butler 78-74 in the first meeting between the teams this season. He entered Tuesday’s game averaging a team-high 15.6 points per game.
Butler was without starting guard Kolby King, who suffered a concussion in Butler’s 82-77 win against Seton Hall last Wednesday.
UConn never trailed in the first half and had a 39-31 advantage at halftime. Ball led all scorers with 15 points in the first 20 minutes. He was 3 of 7 from 3-point range and made five 3-pointers in the game.
–Field Level Media
