LAHAINA, Hawaii – The No. 2 UConn men’s basketball team (4-1) suffered its first setback of the season in a 99-97 overtime thriller vs. Memphis (5-0) on Monday in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center. The Huskies rallied from 12 down in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime before ultimately falling short in the extra frame. The loss snapped UConn’s nation-leading 17-game winning streak and was its first lost in an MTE since 2021.
Solo Ball nailed a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 82-82 in the final second of the second half, one of three 3-pointers hit by the Huskies in the last 2:31 of regulation. Overall the Huskies closed the opening 40 minutes on a 15-3 run after going down 79-67 with 3:18 to play.
Tarris Reed Jr. led a huge bench scoring effort for the Huskies with a career-high 22 points, adding 11 rebounds to post a monster double-double as a reserve. Jaylin Stewart also posted a new career-best with 16 points, adding five rebounds. Alex Karaban finished with 19 points and a game-high six assists, as six total Huskies finished in double-figures.
Rounding out UConn’s double-figure scorers were Hassan Diarra with 12 and Ball and Liam McNeeley both notching 10. For Memphis, Tyrese Hunter led the way with 26 points and PJ Haggerty added 22, going 11-of-14 from the free throw line.
How it Happened
The Tigers came out the aggressor, and a 3-pointer at the 13:09 mark of the first gave Memphis its largest lead of the early goings at 16-10. Later in the first, a run of seven-straight points for the Huskies from Stewart leveled the score at 24-24 and forced a Memphis timeout with 7:36 to go.
Reed Jr. powered his way to a three-point play before Stewart canned another triple to give the Huskies their largest lead at 32-27 just shy of the five-minute mark of the first. The contest would go to the half all tied up at 40-40, with the Huskies getting a huge bench spark as Reed Jr. and Stewart combined for 29 in the opening stanza.
The Tigers built their lead back up to five early in the second, before a put-back slam from Stewart tied the contest at 48-all and prompted a Memphis timeout at 13:54 to play. The seesaw affair continue from there, with Memphis going up four for a spell before a trio of Karaban free throws leveled it again at 57 with 10:14 to go.
A 9-0 Memphis run capped by Hunter’s seventh 3-pointer gave the Tigers the largest lead of the day at 68-58 and prompted a UConn stoppage at 8:09 in the second.
The Tigers swelled their lead to as many as 13 with four minutes to play in the second, but the Huskies would not go down without swinging. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Liam McNeeley cut the deficit back to four and forced a Memphis timeout with 1:38 to go.
A driving lay-up by Karaban at the 1:10 mark got the contest back to within a one-score game at 80-77. Haggerty was able to get to the line on back-to-back trips to keep the Tigers ahead, before a turnover with 14.2 ticks to play gave the Huskies the ball down 82-79. The Huskies inbounded to Hassan Diarra, who had his first few options denied before find Ball for a right wing, fading 3-pointer that saw nothing but net to level the contest and force overtime.
At the 2:00 mark in overtime with the shot clock expiring, Ball connected again from distance to give the Huskies a 90-86 lead. The Tigers answered with back-to-back 3-pointers of their own, sending the contest into the final minute of overtime tied at 92-all. With 40.2 to a go a loose ball foul and ensuing technical gave the Tigers four-straight at the line, which they converted to go up 96-92. The Huskies got back within a possession twice in the dying moments of overtime, but ultimate the Tigers were able to ice away the victory at the charity stripe.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 49.2 percent from the floor (32-65) and 46.7 percent (14-30) from 3-point range, but allowed Memphis to 54.7 (29-53) and 54.5 (12-22) marks – both bests for a UConn opponent this season
- The Huskies finished with a slim 33-30 edge on the glass, led by Reed Jr.’s 11 rebounds and six from Diarra
- Connecticut dished out 22 assists on 32 field goals
- UConn held a 50-23 advantage in bench scoring, get a season-best from the reserves
- Memphis shot 40 free throws compared to 24 for the Huskies
News and Notes
- UConn falls to 8-9 all-time against Memphis in the first meeting since an AAC contest in 2020
- Dan Hurley is now 13-4 in MTE games at UConn
- Reed Jr.’s career-high of 22 came on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor
- Stewart’s career-high of 16 topped his previous mark of 11 set last season – he scored 12 of those points in the first half
- The double-double for Reed Jr. was his third in five games as a Husky and the sixth of his career
- UConn’s 14 made 3-pointers mark a new season-best
- The loss was UConn’s first since Feb. 11, 2024 – a span of 288 days
Up Next
Depending on later results today, UConn will face either Michigan State or Colorado at 3:30 ET / 10:30 HT tomorrow on ESPN2.
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