Box Score

LAHAINA, Hawaii – The No. 2 UConn men's basketball team (4-3) concluded its run at the 2024 Maui Invitational with an 85-67 setback to Dayton on Wednesday night at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Alex Karaban led the Huskies with a game-high 21 points, his second 20-point outing of the season and the 10^th of his career. He was joined in double-figures by Samson Johnson with 12 and Solo Ball and Hassan Diarra with 10 apiece.

How it Happened

The Huskies opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Ball, but the Flyers answered quickly with an 8-0 run to take the early advantage. A Reed Jr. slam ended the run and the two sides settled in to an early defensive tussle. At 9:38 of the first, a corner 3-pointer gave Dayton the largest lead of the contest at 19-12.

Late in the first the pace picked up with a fervor. Karaban knocked down three-straight 3-pointers in less than a minute's span for the Huskies, with the third giving UConn a 30-27 lead at 4:23 of the first. The Flyers answered with a 10-1 burst, going up six before a Jayden Ross 3-pointer stopped the run. Overall Dayton hit its final six shots of the opening stanza after starting 6-of-20 and took a 41-34 lead to the break.

The Huskies wasted no time getting back into the game early in the second half, opening the frame on a 9-2 run and tying the contest at 43-all with a Diarra 3-pointer at 16:46 of the period. Dayton responded with a mirroring 9-2 run, going up 52-45 and forcing a UConn timeout at 12:44.

A 3-pointer from Ball at the 7:24 mark got the Huskies back within a possession at 58-55. The Flyers responded by padding their advantage from the free throw line, taking the largest advantage of the game at 69-57 before a timeout with 4:19 to go.  From there, the Huskies could not close the gap.

Inside The Numbers

• The Huskies shot 26-of-62 (41.9 percent) from the floor and 8-of-29 (27.6) from 3-point range, continuing a curious rash of cold 3-point shooting in Maui
• Conversely, Dayton was 25-of-50 (50.0 percent) from the field and 8-of-17 (47.1) from distance
• For the third-straight game in Maui the Huskies were drastically out-shot from the free throw line, attempting 11 versus 30 attempts for the Flyers
• UConn lost the rebounding battle 41-25, but out-scored Dayton in the paint 36-28
• The Huskies were +5 in turnover margin thanks to a season-low five turnovers and out-scored the Flyers 14-6 off turnovers
• Connecticut dished out 18 assists on 26 field goals

News and Notes

• UConn falls to 1-3 all-time against Dayton, including 0-2 in the Maui Invitational
• The Huskies are now 9-6 all-time in Maui after their fifth appearance
• Ball has scored in double-figures in each of the first seven games of his sophomore season – a feat he accomplished three times as a freshman
• The Huskies assisted on 12 of their 13 field goals in the first half
• Diarra has scored in double-figures in four of UConn's last five games
• Liam McNeeley had a career-high five assists

Up Next

The Huskies head home to take on UMES on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. at the XL Center.