UConn MBB Postgame Media Availability - Georgetown (2.14.26)
STORRS - UConn men’s basketball avoided a Valentine’s Day disaster, knocking off Georgetown, 79-75, at Gampel Pavilion.
On a night where Hasheem Thabeet was inducted into the Huskies of Honor, Dan Hurley’s squad hit 11 threes and held on for the win despite some stumbles late.
Solo Ball followed up his six-triple game at Butler with five threes on Saturday night, finishing with 20 points and six rebounds on 7-of-17 shooting.
UConn (24-2, 14-1) was in control most of the way. In addition to Ball, four other Huskies finished in double figures as Alex Karaban had 18, Silas Demary Jr. 15, and both Braylon Mullins and Eric Reibe chipped in 10. Karaban became the winningest player in program history with a 116-24 all-time record, passing his former teammate Samson Johnson.
The Hoyas (13-12, 5-9) came into the day as one of the hottest teams in the bottom half of the Big East standings, winning four of their past five. Ed Cooley’s group had figured something out.
The Husky three-point barrage got started right away, as Mullins and Ball each connected on the first two offensive possessions. After an empty third trip, a Mullins offensive rebound led to an open look for Karaban that he buried.
Mullins then hit a quick trigger three from the left wing in transition to make UConn’s fourth three before the first media timeout, leading 12-7.
Ball hit a contested three at the top of the key for the Huskies’ fifth in less than seven minutes. But the Hoyas stuck around and even tied it at the 7:06 mark after a pair of free throws evened it at 25. They stayed in the game thanks to offensive rebounding leading to second-chance points.
With the score tied, the Huskies turned the ball over to create a fastbreak opportunity for the Hoyas, but a great defensive stand from Karaban shifted the momentum and set Ball up for a transition three to put UConn back in front 28-25.
Ball stayed hot with his fourth three and then received a beautiful bounce pass from Demary on a fast break for a layup that triggered a Cooley timeout with the Huskies up 35-28 with 4:30 left in the opening stanza.
The junior ended his dominant first half with a bang, catching an offensive rebound off a ricochet flushing an uncontested two-hander through. UConn led 41-33 at halftime as Ball had 16 points.
Silas Demary Jr. was filling it up and threatened for a triple-double, almost getting there. He had six points, six rebounds, and five assists at the intermission, and quickly to seven rebounds and assists by the first media timeout.
With Georgetown cutting the lead down to six after a three, the Huskies responded with back-to-back triples, leading to a Cooley time-out. Jayden Ross sent a pretty no-look pass to Karaban for a corner three, and Ball connected in transition.
The triple put Ball over the 1,000 point mark, the third Husky to reach that mark in less than a month. Demary has his eighth assist after finding Karaban for a deep wing three, the Huskies 10th of the night.
The Hoyas trimmed the lead down to 67-62 before Demary hit a pair of free throws to push it back to seven with four minutes to go.
A high-bouncing three from the Hoyas’ Malik Mack cut the deficit down to four after the break, but Karaban answered with another triple. KJ Lewis answered immediately from deep for Georgetown, making it 72-68 UConn when Hurley called a timeout with 2:18 to play.
After the stoppage, Ball had to hoist a three to try and beat the shot clock and missed, but Demary got the offensive rebound for his 10th board, just needing one assist in the final 1:56. He didn’t end up getting there, as the Hoyas began fouling to extend the game.
With the lead 77-70, Lewis connected on a four-point play to trim it to three and the Huskies nearly got called for a 10-second violation before Hurley burned his final timeout with 14.8 to play.
Whatever was drawn up didn’t work, as a sloppy turnover gave Georgetown the ball with 12.8 seconds to play, still down three. UConn fouled instantly on the inbounds, and Kayvaun Mulready split the pair to make it 77-75 before Karaban iced it at the line for the 79-75 win.
The Huskies never trailed, but it sure got dicey down the stretch. Some credit goes to the Hoyas making challenging shots, but a lot of it goes to UConn failing to put the game away when they could.
After notching his record-setting 116th win, Karaban adressed the post-game crowd postgame in front of his teammates in a short post-game moment of recognition.
Next up, UConn continues its homestand in Storrs with a matchup against Creighton on Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on TNT and HBO Max.
Led by Greg McDermott, the Bluejays have a 7-8 record in Big East play and have dropped five of their past six, including a 27-point loss to the Huskies in Omaha back on Jan. 31. They’re ranked 78th in KenPom overall efficiency (66th Offense, 120th Defense).
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