UConn takes down No. 8 Gonzaga at MSG
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NEW YORK CITY – The UConn Huskies traveled to the Big Apple and left with another ranked victory, beating No. 8 Gonzaga 77-71 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Freshman Liam McNeeley led all scorers with 26 points on a night where the Huskies were not proficient from behind the arc.
UConn jumped out to a 13-2 start in the first three minutes after finding some easy Samson Johnson dunks, a three from McNeeley, and a steal by Diarra that set up a breakaway dunk by Solo Ball to get the Madison Square Garden crowd roaring early.
Gonzaga cut the lead down to one just after the halfway point of the first half. The Bulldogs pulled ahead about a minute later. Around that time, Samson Johnson went down and stayed down on the floor as play continued. After briefly being tended to, Johnson walked off on his own power but went to the locker room and did not return to the game.
The Huskies took a 43-40 lead into the break. Early in the second half, Reed got his third foul and had to sit, giving way to Youssouf Singare minutes in this big matchup. The Huskies pulled away thanks to some heady play in response, going up as much as nine in the first five minutes of the second half.
With Reed out, UConn struggled and Gonzaga got back in it, once again briefly grabbing a lead but McNeeley and the Huskies had a response for everything. The Bulldogs tied it up with 11:59 left but UConn answered with a 10-0 run. They cut it to within three two more times but circus buckets, timely steals, and improved shooting down the stretch helped the Huskies clinch the victory. Gonzaga didn’t hit a field goal in the final 3:25 of the game.
Next up, UConn opens Big East play at home against Xavier on December 18. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. from the XL Center and the game will be televised on FS1. They wrapped up non-conference play with a 8-3 record.
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