LAHAINA, Hawaii – The No. 2 UConn men's basketball team (4-2) suffered its second-straight heartbreaking defeat, falling 73-72 to Colorado in the final seconds on Tuesday at the consolation round of the 2024 Maui Invitational. The Huskies have dropped their two games in Maui by a combined three points.

Liam McNeeley had a career-high 20 points for the Huskies in the setback and Solo Ball added 16, with the duo hitting four 3-pointers apiece. Connecticut took an eight-point lead at the half, but a white-hot shooting second half from CU got the Buffaloes back in the mix. The Huskies took a late lead with a Ball trifecta to break a deadlock inside of the final five minutes, but the Buffs hung around until getting an Andrej Jakimovski  runner to go in the final 10 seconds that proved to be the difference.

Hassan Diarra made his first start of the season for the Huskies and finished with 11 points along with a game-high six assists. For Colorado, Julian Hammond III and Elijah Malone each had 16.

How it Happened

The contest opened with a wide-open pace, and an Alex Karaban 3-pointer gave Connecticut an early 11-7 lead at the 16:21 mark. Midway through the first the Huskies turned up the clamps and held Colorado without a field for over seven minutes of game time, and a 7-0 run capped by a McNeeley triple and Jaylin Stewart step-back prompted a CU timeout at 7:50 and the Huskies up 25-14.

The Buffaloes got back within six later in the opening stanza, but another McNeeley 3-pointer pushed the lead back to double-digits at 35-25. The Huskies would take a 40-32 lead to the break behind McNeeley's 16-point first half.

Colorado came out strong after the half, hitting six of its first seven from the floor and using an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the day at 48-46 at 14:02 of the second. That lead was short-lived as the Huskies rattled off a 7-2 run of their own, capped by a pair of Samson Johnson slams to give Connecticut a 53-50 lead at 11:51.

A 3-pointer from the Buffaloes gave CU a 57-56 lead and prompted a UConn timeout with 9:05 to play in regulation. Ball gave the Huskies the advantage promptly after the stoppage with a corner 3-pointer and set the stage for a tight finish.

After McNeeley hit a driving bucket to put the Huskies up three, a 3-pointer evened the score again at 63-63 with 5:15 to play. Ball cashed in again to break the deadlock with 4:24 to play, giving UConn a 68-65 lead.  A Stewart tip-in with 1:34 to play pushed the lead back to three, but buckets on back-to-back trips to close regulation including Jakimovski's gave CU the narrow edge.

Inside The Numbers

• UConn shot 48.1 percent (25-52) from the floor and 38.7 percent (12-31) from deep, while Colorado posted 51.1 percent (23-45) and 56.3 percent (9-16) marks
• The Huskies were out-rebounded, 28-26, marking their season low output on the glass
• UConn dished out 17 assists on 25 field goals, holding a +2 turnover margin leading to a 15-11 edge in points off miscues
• Colorado attempted 28 free throws versus 13 attempts for UConn
• The Huskies held a 5-1 advantage in blocked shots, with five players notching a swat

News and Notes

• The Huskies fall to 1-1 all-time against Colorado and 9-5 in the Maui Invitational
• UConn has lost back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 11-18, 2023
• McNeeley has scored in double-figures in the first six games of his freshman season and recorded the first 20-point game of his career
• Connecticut has seen three different players hit 20 in a game this season
• Ahmad Nowell dished out a career-best five assists, including four in the first half. Nowell played a season-high 13 minutes and finished with two points, three rebounds, five assists and a steal without a turnover
• The Huskies have hit double-digit 3-pointers in four of their first six games, including both contests in Maui

Up Next

The Huskies conclude their run in Maui on Wednesday at 12 a.m. ET / 7 p.m. HT against either Dayton or Iowa State in the seventh-place game.