No. 19 UConn Escapes Butler in Overtime, 80-78
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The UConn Huskies were able to rebound Tuesday night after suffering a disappointing loss to Creighton last time out. The Huskies have been up and down lately as they have dropped two of their last three games. However, in an effort to avoid a concerning third loss in a short span, the Huskies rose to the occasion to escape Butler 80-78.
The victory serves as the second close-win against Butler this season. UConn previously managed to survive a second half Butler comeback at Hinkle Fieldhouse just before the holiday break.
The Huskies took clear control of the first half despite three sloppy turnovers early on. UConn was able to score in the paint as well as connect from deep as they established an early 12-7 lead.
UConn would remain in the lead throughout the first half, however, it took the Huskies a little while to gain a substantial lead. In fact, the offensive scoring began to slow down after a quick spell for the starters.
UConn crept to a 21-17 lead after the first 10 minutes, but then began to take off once Solo Ball reentered the game. Ball went on a run of his own, scoring eight straight and cashing in from behind the perimeter twice in that span.
The momentum swing gave the Huskies the chance to go on an additional 8-0 run in the half before ultimately closing out the first half up 39-31.
The trend so far this season for the Huskies is to play well in the first half and then get into a nailbiter in the second half. During the first matchup, between UConn and Butler the game came down to the wire and in Husky fashion this time around, UConn was caught in a one-point battle with Butler again with 4:16 left in regulation.
Butler took the lead for the first time in the game with 3:54 left on the clock thanks to an open layup from Finley Bizjack, who also hit the three-pointer to bring the game within one-point. With the Bulldogs up 65-64, both teams traded points back and forth to force overtime tied at 68-68.
Alex Karaban and Jahmyl Telfort did all they could to will their teams to victory. Both players scored the teams first five points, but it was a Ball three-pointer, Samson Johnson hitting two clutch free throws and a heads up Tarris Reed Jr. play to recover a stripped Karaban dribble and put it up with the shot clock expiring that gave UConn just enough to defeat Butler.
UConn will face Xavier on Saturday in Cincinnati for a 8 p.m. tip-off at CINTAS Center. UConn defeated Xavier to open BIG EAST play in December.
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