Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas – Alex Karaban returned with a bang to lead the No. 25 UConn men's basketball team (7-3) to a 76-65 win at Texas (7-2) on Sunday at the Moody Center. In a game in which he scored his 1,000^th career point Karaban posted his first career double-double and went for 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals after missing UConn's last two games.

The Huskies went up as many as 22 in an explosive first half, turning in a dominant performances on both sides fo the ball to build an 18-point halftime lead. The Longhorns picked up their intensity in the second half and got within single digits late, but the Huskies were able to withstand the home crowd momentum and close out the quality victory. It was UConn's second potential Quad 1 win of the week after topping No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday.

Behind Karaban on the scoresheet were a total of three other Huskies in double-figures. Solo Ball tied his career-high 16 points for the third time this season and hit four 3-pointers, while Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. both scored 12 from the pivot. Hassan Diarra had a huge day from the point with a career-high 11 assists against two turnovers to go with five points, four rebounds and a steal. Returning to his home state, Liam McNeeley nearly missed a double-double with seven points and nine rebounds. For Texas, projected lottery pick Tre Johnson scored 24 on 17 shots and veteran Arthur Kaluma added 20 and nine rebounds.

How it Happened

A Ball 3-pointer broke the ice, sparking a 9-2 start for the Huskies to build an early advantage. Later in the opening stanza back-to-back layups from Reed Jr. and a Karaban put-back stretched the advantage to 19-6, prompting a Texas timeout with 11:48 left in the half.

At 5:11 of the first, Ball splashed a transition 3-pointer to give UConn its largest lead at 35-16, part of a 7-0 run that forced another Texas timeout. Connecticut would push its lead over 20 in the first and take a 42-24 lead to the break behind 27 combined from Ball and Karaban.

Both teams came out hot in the second half, as the Longhorns hit their first four 3-pointers of the second to cut the lead to 57-42 at the 14:15 media stoppage. Johnson kept the Huskies going during the attempted Texas surge, going 5-of-5 and scoring 10 points in the first five-plus minutes of the half. At 13:08 the Longhorns hit their fifth-straight from downtown and prompted a UConn timeout with the Huskies up 60-48.

Five-straight from Tre Johnson later in the second slimmed the lead to 10 at 64-54, with a corner 3-pointer from Ball off Diarra's 10^th assist stopping the spurt before a Texas timeout with 6:59 to play and UConn up 67-56.

A pair of tough buckets inside from Reed Jr. after the stoppage helped the Huskies keep their advantage in double-figures, and a Karaban put-back with 4:04 to go gave him a double-double while pushing the edge back to 15 at 73-58. A late 7-0 run from the Longhorns briefly slimmed the lead to single-digits in the final minutes but it was too little too late as UConn slammed the door shut from the free throw line to seal the 11-point victory.

Inside The Numbers

• UConn shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field, 45.0 percent (9-20) from 3-point range and 68.8 percent (11-16) fron the free throw stripe
• Conversely, UConn held Texas to 42.0 percent (21-50) from the field, 47.1 percent from distance (8-17) and 62.5 percent (15-24) fron the line
  • The Huskies held the Longhorns to 30.8 percent (8-26) from the floor and 1-of-6 from three in the first half
• The Huskies held a commanding 39-25 edge in rebounding, led by the combined 20 caroms from Karaban and McNeeley
• UConn out-scored Texas 38-18 in the paint, 15-7 off the bench and 12-6 in second chance points
• Connecticut dished out 21 assists on 28 field goals
• UConn led for 38:27 and never trailed

News and Notes

• The Huskies improve to 8-3 all-time against Texas and 4-1 in Austin
• Karaban became the 53^rd player in UConn men's history to score 1,000 career points as a Husky with a first half 3-pointer
• He also posted his first career double-double in his 86^th career contest
• The career-high 11 assists for Diarra top his previous career-high of seven, set twice including on Dec. 4 vs. Baylor
  • Since moving into the starting lineup on Nov. 26, Diarra has dished out 34 assists against seven turnovers, averaging 6.8 assists and a 4.89 assist/turnover ratio in those five contests
  • The 11 assists were the most for a Husky this season
• Ball is the lone UConn player to score in double-figures in all 10 games this season
• Over his last five games Johnson is averaging 10.4 points per game and has shot 23-of-26 (88.5 percent) from the floor
• The Huskies hit the 20-assist mark for the sixth time this year and also shot over 50 percent for the sixth time
• Johnson and Reed Jr. scored in double-figures in the same game for the first time this season – the center duo combined to go 12-of-15 from the floor

Up Next

The Huskies conclude their non-league slate and continue their arduous December when they take on No. 7 Gonzaga in the Hall of Fame Series at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 14.