UConn men’s basketball picked up its gutsiest win of the season Wednesday night as it erased a late double-digit comeback against Providence and extended its win streak to 11-straight games. The Huskies
(15-1, 5-0 Big East) trailed by as much as 13 with 8:24 left to play but outscored PC 14-3 in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime, where Braylon Mullins then led them to a 103-98 victory.
UConn trailed by 11 with three minutes to play after a smooth transition layup from Ryan Mela made it 86-75 Friars. Alex Karaban immediately answered with a bucket on the other end to kickstart the Huskies’ comeback run. After Silas Demary Jr. forced a turnover, Jaylin Stewart drilled a corner three for UConn’s first bench points of the entire night to cut the lead to six. Demary Jr. hit two free throws on the next trip down, then found Karaban in traffic in the paint to pull within two with 1:27 to play, capping off a 9-0 run for the Huskies in just 82 seconds of action.
Providence finally punched back with 3-pointer from Jaylin Sellers to lead by five, but Karaban once again responded and matched with a three of his own. After UConn stopped PC, Karaban’s game-winning 3-point attempt missed, but Tarris Reed Jr. collected the rebound for the put-back to tie the game at 89. Providence’s Corey Floyd Jr. missed a baseline jumper to win, and Demary Jr. secured the rebound to force overtime after UConn seemingly was dead in the water four minutes earlier.
In overtime, the Huskies’ elaborate offense wore the Friars down like a football team running the ball relentless and finally breaking off big runs in the crunch time. When they needed buckets most, they ran Mullins off screens and got plenty of open looks. The freshman delivered.
Mullins gave UConn its first lead since the 5:46 mark in the first half on the opening possession of overtime, hitting long two in the corner. Mullins came through a minute later with another three off a Reed screen and after Demary tacked on two free throws to put the Huskies ahead, 96-92.
The Friars stormed back to make it a one-point game, but Mullins responded with another three — his sixth of the night — to make it 99-95. Reed pushed UConn past the century mark with a wide open layup off a back screen to make it a six-point game, and while Duncan Powell made things interesting with his third three of the night — as many as he had all season entering tonight’s game — Demary Jr. put PC to bed with an elbow jumper with 11 seconds left to seal the improbable victory.
UConn leaned heavily on Demary Jr., Mullins and Reed to complete the comeback and erase both an ugly first half and a Dan Hurley technical to open the second. Mullins scored eight of his career-high 24 points in overtime, and drilled 6-10 from three. Demary Jr. stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 15 assists, five steals and three rebounds while setting the tone for UConn in the second half with relentless defensive intensity.
Reed was abysmal in the first half but came up big when it mattered. The Michigan transfer scored 14 of his 20 points in the final 20 minutes, then navigated foul trouble late to stay on the court. Karaban added 23 points and was once again crucial during the stretch, further fueling the senior’s Big East Player of the Year campaign.
The Huskies got into a double-digit hole to come back from as the result of a flat start for UConn and some excellent shooting from the Friars. While the Huskies made nine first-half 3-pointers — more than their entire win over Marquette on Sunday — PC was even hotter. The Friars were 7-12 from three and 16-27 from the field overall, good for over 59 percent. Throw in that Providence made all eight of their free throws while UConn had zero attempts (much to Hurley’s chagrin), and the Friars had all the makings of a second-straight marquee win.
Mullins’ second 3-pointer of the night put UConn up 30-26 with 6:39 to play in the first half but PC ripped off an 11-0 killshot to eventually lead 37-30. The Friars stretched that lead to as much as 13 but a three from Solo Ball with 33 seconds left cut it back to 10 before the first half ended.
Hurley was assessed his first technical of the season after arguing with the referees at the end of the half, leading to two PC free throws and the ball to start the second. The Friars made one of two free throws, but did score on the ensuing possession. PC could never get the second half lead past 13 and while UConn continually tried to comeback earlier in the half, the Friars answered routinely with timely threes. PC finished 14-24 from beyond the arc on the night, while the Huskies were 18-32, setting a new program record for made 3-pointers.
Up next, UConn returns home to take on DePaul on Saturday, Jan. 11 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford. TNT will have the broadcast.
