UA beats a 3rd ranked team this season and it’s their 2nd win over the No. 3 team in the country
HIGHLIGHTS: No. 4 Arizona 71, No. 3 Connecticut 67
STORRS (CT) — Jaden Bradley’s game-high 21 points included a clutch layup with 16 seconds left in regulation to lift No. 4 Arizona to a 71-67 road win over No. 3 UConn in an early-season showdown on Wednesday night in Gampel Pavilion.
The Wildcats (5-0) used a late 7-0 run to turn a 1-point deficit into a lead that they would never relinquish en route to their third win over a ranked team this season. A jump-hood by Motiejus Krivas (9 points, 14 rebounds) in the lane with 1:12 left proved to be the game-winning shot.
Bradley’s lay-up extended the lead to 67-64 and a pair of missed free throws by UConn’s Eric Reibe on the ensuing possession had the Huskies in catch-up mode with not enough time remaining. Arizona’s Tobe Akawa hit all four free throw attempts in the final six seconds to seal the road victory.
Star freshman Koa Peat added a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double for Arizona, which shot 51.9% in the second half and had a 43-23 advantage on the glass in the game.
Reibe had a team-high 15 points and four boards to lead UConn (4-1), which had a streak of 36 consecutive nonconference home wins snapped. He was one of four double-figure scorers.
Solo Ball tallied 14 points but misfired on 7 of 8 from beyond the arc. Silas Demary Jr. added 13 points.
Malachi Smith had eight assists and sunk a jumper with 2:16 left to give the Huskies their last lead of the night, capping a 12-4 run.
Arizona Postgame Download: Jaden Bradley & Tommy Lloyd
Arizona opened the second half on an 18-7 run to expand its 35-33 halftime lead to 53-40 with 13:34 to play.
The Huskies climbed right back into the game thereafter, as a Jayden Ross 3-pointer in between two Demary Jr. jumpers nearly sliced the lead in half 3 1/2 minutes later.
Trailing 58-52, Eric Reibe’s layup and an Alex Karaban 3-pointer sliced the deficit to 58-57 with 4:41 left. Reibe knocked down a tying trey before Jaylin Stewart finished Karaban’s drop-off inside to give UConn its first lead since 22-21, but the Wildcats surged late.
The first half featured five ties and eight lead changes.
(UCONN) HEAD COACH DAN HURLEY POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
(UCONN) ERIC REIBE AND SOLO BALL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Early free throw shooting helped UConn erase Arizona’s quick 4-0 start with a 6-0 run. After a Reibe 3-point play opened the Huskies’ scoring, Solo Ball scored 10 of the team’s next 12 points and hit the team’s first triple to make it a 15-14 lead.
Neither team led by more than four for the rest of the first half. Peat dropped an inside lob pass for a 3-point play at the rim with 4:27 left, but Stewart’s trey was one of just two UConn field goals in the final 4:03. Demary, Jr.’s driving layup with five seconds to play in the half cut the Arizona lead to 35-33 at intermission.
UConn played without starting center Tarris Reed Jr. due to an ankle injury.
Meridian Wealth Management Postgame Show
— Field Level Media
