Alex Karaban made 5 of 6 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 23 points, lifting No. 6 UConn to a 71-67 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday in a Big East matchup played In Storrs, Conn.
Solo Ball added 14 points for UConn (27-3, 17-2 Big East), which trailed by eight points midway through the second half.
Karaban sank two free throws to give UConn a 68-65 lead with 20 seconds to play.
After Seton Hall’s Adam Clark missed a 3-pointer, Ball made two free throws that extended UConn’s lead with eight seconds left. Following Najai Hines’ basket, Ball capped the scoring by making a free throw with three seconds remaining.
Seton Hall (19-10, 9-9) received 20 points from A.J. Staton-McCray, 12 from Elijah Fisher and 11 from Hines. Clark, who entered the game averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game, was held to four points.
The Pirates made 9 of 18 3-point attempts after going 0 for 18 from 3-point range in their last game, a 51-47 victory over Georgetown. Seton Hall was 1 of 16 from beyond the 3-point arc when it dropped a 69-64 decision to UConn on Jan. 13.
Despite 15 first-half points from Karaban, Seton Hall had a 33-32 halftime lead.
UConn took a 43-42 lead on a Jayden Ross layup with 14:57 left in the second half, but Seton Hall had a 54-46 advantage – its largest lead of the game – after a Staton-McCray 3-pointer with 9:33 remaining in regulation.
Braylon Mullins capped a 10-0 run that put UConn in front 58-56 with 5:57 left.
It was 63-63 after a Fisher jump shot with 2:02 to play, but the Huskies took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish when Ball made two free throws that erased a 65-64 deficit.
Mullins (11) and Tarris Reed (10) also scored in double figures for UConn.
