WASHINGTON, D.C. – The third-ranked UConn men’s basketball team escaped with another tight victory on a rough shooting afternoon at Capital One Arena on Saturday, holding on in the final minute to beat Georgetown, 64-62.
The win was No. 14 in a row for the Huskies and their 11th straight in the all-time series with the Hoyas as they improved to 18-1 on the season and 8-0 in Big East play.
Tarris Reed Jr. was a force for UConn, particularly early in the game as he finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. But point guard Silas Demary Jr. was the difference again, as he finished a team-best plus-six with 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Freshman Braylon Mullins added 11 points with a block and two steals, and Solo Ball tacked on 10 despite a 3-for-10 effort from the field.
Georgetown had no answer for Reed from the moment he won the opening tip. Dominating the Hoyas’ 7-foot tandem with sheer effort, the 6-foot-10 senior scored 11 of the Huskies’ first 13 points as they ran out to a 13-4 lead over the first five minutes.
UConn’s offense stalled when Demary went out after his first foul and Georgetown capitalized on a pair of turnovers before Demary returned, finding Jaylin Stewart for a corner 3-pointer and hitting one himself before Jayden Ross pushed the lead to 10. But the Huskies lulled again, finishing the half with just one make – a tough turnaround jumper from Mullins – on their final 10 shots from the field and Georgetown cut it to a 32-28 UConn lead at halftime.
The Hoyas jumped ahead with an 8-0 run to start the second half, upping their physicality to grab eight rebounds before UConn pulled one down. It took four and a half minutes for the Huskies to get into the scoring column after the break, when Demary was fouled on a 3-pointer and made 2 of 3 from the line.
A putback from Eric Reibe tied the game back up before Alex Karaban, who had a quiet first half with only two points, reclaimed the lead with a layup. Mullins then pushed it to five with a triple to cap a 9-0 Huskies’ run, stopped only by a 3-point response from former Husky Isaiah Abraham.
UConn’s lead hovered around five points until Demary hit a fadeaway midrange jumper to make it seven with 2:45 to play. Shooting just 36.2% from the field and 19.2% from 3 (5-for-26) themselves, the Huskies’ defense held Georgetown without scoring for four minutes of game time. Malik Mack ended the drought with a mid-range jumper and Solo Ball answered with a runner as the shot clock expired with a minute left in regulation.
Mack hit a triple, the Hoyas’ fifth of the game on 13 attempts, to make it a four-point game with 46 seconds left, then assisted KJ Lewis for a dunk that cut it to three after Demary split his free throws. After Ball went 0-for-2 from the line and Lewis missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt, Mullins grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled to put the game out of reach from the stripe.
UConn will get a break before returning to action on Saturday to host Villanova at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford.