Alex Karaban grabbed a key offensive rebound and hit the tiebreaking free throws with 1:24 left in overtime as No. 2 UConn extended its winning streak to 15 games by outlasting visiting Villanova for a 75-67 Big East victory Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Conn.
Karaban scored all 17 of his points after halftime and added eight rebounds. The biggest occurred when Solo Ball missed a 3-pointer with 1:25 left and Karaban outbattled Devin Askew to secure the rebound and draw a foul. He cleanly hit the foul shots to snap a 67-67 tie — the 11th of the game.
Silas Demary Jr. made it 71-67 by getting past Duke Brennan for a layup with 47 seconds left and hit two free throws 18 seconds later. Karaban finished it off by hitting two free throws with four seconds left.
Solo Ball led all scorers with 24 points to help the Huskies (19-1, 9-0 Big East) win 15 straight for the first time since winning the first 19 games in 1998-1999. Tarris Reed Jr. and Demary added 10 apiece as UConn shot 41% and hit 8-of-22 3s.
Reed also grabbed 11 rebounds before fouling out in overtime.
Tyler Perkins and Brennan led the Wildcats (15-5, 6-3) with 16 points apiece. Brennan also grabbed 14 rebounds while Perkins had 10 boards.
Askew added 13 points before fouling out and Matt Hodge contributed 12 as the Wildcats shot 33.9% from the field. Standout freshman Acaden Lewis was held to four points on 1-of-13 shooting.
Villanova held a 31-27 lead by halftime after Malachi Palmer sank a corner 3-pointers with 27 seconds left. Askew and Lewis hit free throws for a 39-33 lead with 15:06 left after Danny Hurley was called for a technical foul, but UConn responded with a 9-0 run capped by Erik Reibe’s basket off a Ball pass.
Neither team led by more than four the rest of regulation and both had chances to win down the stretch.
UConn took a 59-56 lead when Karaban slipped by Hodge for a layup with 3:36 left. The Huskies held the lead for over two minutes until Hodge hit an open corner 3-pointer off an inbounds pass for a 61-59 edge with 70 seconds left.
UConn tied the game at 61 when Reed batted in a putback while jostling with Perkins under the rim with 45 seconds remaining.
On the final possessions of regulation, Villanova had Bryce Lindsay’s 3-point attempt blocked by Jaylin Ross with 26 seconds left and Karaban committed a turnover before he could get off a shot before the buzzer.
–Field Level Media
