STORRS, Conn. – Jonathan Holmes hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 2.2 seconds remaining Sunday as No. 7 Texas rallied from a six-point deficit for a 55-54 victory over No. 24 UConn at Gampel Pavilion.
Holmes (13 points) got open on an inbounds pass from Connor Lammert with 4.4 seconds remaining. Ryan Boatright had given UConn a 54-52 lead with one free throw with 15 seconds left. But Boatright, who had to be helped off the floor after the game with a left ankle sprain, missed his only free throw attempt of the game (7-for-8) to set the stage for the final drama.
Boatright led all scorers with 24 points. Daniel Hamilton (13 points) was the only other UConn player in double figures. UConn (3-2) has lost two in a row and missed its final eight shots from the field.
Demarcus Holland and Javan Felix had 10 points each for Texas (6-0).
Boatright, who turned on the afterburners for a reverse layup with the shot clock running down with 6:50 to play, hit two free throws when Lammert picked up his fourth foul. The second free throw with 6:13 left gave the Huskies their biggest lead of the game at 51-45.
Center Amida Brimah (four points, two rebounds) scored on a dish from Hamilton and hit one of two free throws in the first four minutes of the second half as UConn trimmed the Texas lead to 35-32 after trailing by six at the half. But uncontested shots in the lane by Felix and Kendal Yancy restored the lead to seven for the Longhorns and forced UConn coach Kevin Ollie to take a timeout with 15:52 to play.
The Longhorns couldn’t pull away. Boatright hit two free throws to pull the Huskies within three with 13:24 left and Brimah made it a two-point margin with another charity toss. Then Boatright tied the game at 41 when he grabbed a defensive rebound, took off in transition and scored on a break-out with 12:41 remaining.
Boatright got to the basket with a nice move and scored to put the Huskies ahead 43-42.
UConn shot 33.3 percent in the first half, struggling to get the ball inside and settling for shots from the perimeter. Hamilton and Boatright had nine points each at the break, combining to shoot 7 of 17, including 2 of 6 from three-point range. The Huskies made some ill-advised drives in the lane, on the baseline and behind the basket that resulted in five turnovers of missed shots against the Longhorns’ extended defense.
After a run-out dunk by Boatright cut the Texas lead to 23-22, Texas made its last three shots to grab the 31-25 halftime lead. That increased the Longhorns’ shooting percentage to 45.8 percentage after they had struggled early. Demarcus Holland led Texas with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first half.
UConn managed to outrebound Texas 16-14 in the first half. But the Huskies managed just four points off six offensive rebounds. Texas outscored the Huskies 15-8 in the paint and 13-4 on the fastbreak. Brimah played 16 minutes before halftime but was held scoreless with just one rebound.
Speak Your Mind