UConn staved off a storming Marquette, surviving a late-run to pull out a 72-66 victory on Wednesday. The win means the Huskies sweep the Golden Eagles in this season’s series and the two teams are now tied for third place in the Big East conference.
UConn ripped off 10 straight points with dunks by Jaylin Stewart, Tarris Reed Jr. and Samson Johnson to take a 61-54 lead with 7:49 remaining. The Golden Eagles, answered, doubling them up with a 12-6 run over the next seven minutes to bring it to 67-66. Senior Kam Jones scored seven of the 12 points, including a pair of layups that cut the margin to one. But with 23.7 seconds left, Reed kicked a pass out to Alex Karaban for a right-wing 3-pointer that put the game on ice.
Karaban scored 21 points, including that pivotal 3-pointer, to lift UConn over No. 20 Marquette.
Liam McNeeley had 11 points and Johnson added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies (21-9, 13-6 Big East). Solo Ball and Hassan Diarra each scored 10 points as the two-time defending NCAA champions beat Marquette for the fifth straight time.
No. 20 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. UConn Huskies Highlights | FOX College Hoops
Jones scored 21 for the Golden Eagles (22-8, 13-6) and David Joplin led the team with 23.
The opening tip was delayed by 22 minutes as a result of facility issues, according to a statement from UConn.
With the win, UConn owns the tiebreaker for third place over Marquette in the Big East standings. Each team has one game remaining on their schedule with UConn hosting Seton Hall on Saturday and Marquette hosting No. 6 St. John on Saturday.
Reporting by The Associated Press
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