UConn Falls to Florida in Heartbreaking Loss
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UConn’s season ended at the hands of top-seed Florida, 77-75, in an intense second-round matchup. The Huskies played a tough first half to a tie and led for 17 minutes, all in the second half, before succumbing due to a few late-game stumbles.
The contest started with a 6-0 Florida run and even though it was looking bleak early, the Huskies powered through their cold start. Threes from Liam McNeeley and Jaylin Stewart overshadowed an ice-cold start for UConn’s shooters. Nevertheless, they trailed just 8-6 at the U-16 and started making some plays.
Stewart played 10 strong minutes in the first half, scoring six points before McNeeley and Karaban came to life as well. The latter two led the Huskies with 9 points and 7 points at the break, but they had shot a combined 6-17 and 2-11 from three to that point.
A vastly improved defensive effort kept the Huskies in this game and in the second half as they were going shot for shot with the SEC Tournament champs.
The Huskies held Florida to a 38 percent mark in the first half and forced nine turnovers. They didn’t do a great job of converting second-chance or turnover points, but maintaining possession helped them stay in the game despite being outplayed overall through the first 20 minutes.
A Hassan Diarra three sent us into the locker room tied at 31, and UConn continued to push it in the second half as their gameplan seemed to be working.
Everyone was fighting like crazy as the Huskies made it 38-32 two minutes in after a Diarra three-point play. He fed Karaban for an easy lay-in for their next bucket. Solo Ball hit a three before Tarris Reed Jr. and Aidan Mahaney activated. Mahaney scored four straight points and then grabbed an offensive rebound to set Reed Jr. up for a dunk to keep the lead at six with 9:24 left.
The Gators appeared fazed through the second half but gathered their composure late. They made their last six shot attempts on their way to hitting 54 percent of their field goals in the second half.
A three-pointer from Walter Clayton responded to a Karaban three and cut the lead down to one. Will Richard cut it down to one again, 55-54, after a three with 6:45 left before Rueben Chinyelu missed two at the free throw line to fumble a chance at taking the lead. Karaban hit two free throws to push the lead back to three.
The two teams traded baskets and free throws before a Clayton three with 2:54 left gave Florida its first second-half lead, 62-61. McNeeley lost the ball on the other end leading to a fast break dunk, 64-61, but Solo Ball tied it up with a three.
The game was tied at 64 with two minutes left before Florida hit one of two free throws at the line and the rebound off the missed second shot flew off McNeeley’s hands to Thomas Haugh. McNeeley committed a quick foul on Clayton, who hit two more free throws to take a three-point lead with 1:45 left.
After McNeeley missed a three on the other end, Clayton hit a three to push the lead to six with 1:06 left. Another rebound off a free throw gave Alijah Martin a free lane for a dunk to make it an eight-point lead with 40 seconds left that would seal the deal. UConn challenged late with some makes and timely free-throw shooting but it wasn’t enough.
The Huskies’ season ends in the Round of 32 with a 24-11 final record. Next up, they’ll face the offseason of portal intrigue and hit the recruiting trail.
Thank you for following Storrs’ Central’s coverage across the season. More to come as the offseason begins.
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