Bradley Scores 21, Wildcats Dominate Glass By 20 In Top-5 Showdown
Storrs, CT – The No. 4 Arizona Wildcats survived a furious second-half rally from No. 3 UConn, holding on for a 71-67 victory in a top-five showdown at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday night. The loss snapped UConn’s 36-game home non-conference winning streak dating back to November 2019.
Arizona (5-0) dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Huskies 43-23, and built a 13-point second-half lead before UConn (4-1) clawed back to take a pair of late leads. Guard Jaden Bradley led all scorers with 21 points, including a clutch driving layup with 16 seconds remaining that gave the Wildcats a three-point cushion.
Forward Koa Peat added 16 points and 12 rebounds, while center Motiejus Krivas grabbed 14 rebounds for Arizona, which capitalized on the absence of UConn junior center Tarris Reed Jr.
“Obviously, you know, a great result for our club,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “Coming here was a special trip. I’ve never been here before. And just, you know, the amount of respect I have for UConn basketball over the years. I mean, literally they’ve dominated the sport.”
Reibe’s Career Night Not Enough For Huskies
Playing shorthanded without Reed, UConn got a career-high 15 points from junior center Eric Reibe, who made his first start since the season opener. Reibe shot 6-of-10 from the field and hit his first two career three-pointers, adding four rebounds and two blocks.
Guard Solo Ball finished with 14 points, junior guard Silas Demary Jr. added 13, and forward Jaylin Stewart contributed 10 for the Huskies, who shot 44.6 percent from the field but an uncharacteristic 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from the foul line.
Senior forward Alex Karaban, playing in front of a sold-out crowd in his home state of Massachusetts, was held to eight points on 2-of-5 shooting. With the performance, Karaban passed Rashad Anderson (1,432) to move into 22nd place on UConn’s all-time scoring list with 1,434 career points.
“We were going to give it a good look,” Lloyd said of targeting UConn’s frontcourt without Reed. “And, you know, it was a physical game. I mean, the referees, I thought, you know, did a good job for both teams.”
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Arizona Builds 13-Point Lead, UConn Rallies Late
Arizona scored the game’s first two baskets and took a 14-8 lead at 13:33 of the first half. Ball answered with a personal 7-0 run to give UConn a 15-14 lead at 11:20, but the Wildcats responded with five straight points to retake the advantage.
Neither side took more than a three-point lead over the next nine minutes. A Reibe dunk at 4:44 and a Stewart three-pointer at 4:03 tied the score at 29-all, one of five ties and eight lead changes in the opening half. A Demary Jr. driving layup in the final seconds pulled UConn within two at the break, trailing 35-33.
Arizona started the second half strong, forcing a pair of early UConn timeouts. The Wildcats pushed their lead to 13 at 53-40 with 13:34 remaining, their largest advantage of the game.
UConn responded with a prolonged 12-4 run over five-plus minutes, pulling within four at 56-52 on a Ball jumper at 8:15. At 4:38, Karaban drilled a wing three-pointer to cut the lead to one at 58-57, forcing an Arizona timeout.
On UConn’s next possession, Reibe buried his second three-pointer of the day to tie the game at 60. After another stop, Stewart scored inside to give UConn its first lead since 22-21, going up 62-60 with 3:02 remaining.
Bradley Delivers In Crunch Time
After an Arizona bucket, guard Malachi Smith hit a pull-up jumper with the shot clock expiring to give the Huskies a 64-62 lead with 2:03 to play.
Arizona answered with an offensive rebound and put-back to take a 65-64 lead with 1:12 left. After a UConn stop, Bradley connected on a jumper to give the Wildcats a three-point advantage before a UConn timeout with 13.3 seconds remaining.
“When you have a point guard who is selfless and also a baller, and who has big enough cojones to take and make those shots at the end of a game is pretty special,” Lloyd said of Bradley. “And we have that in him.”
Bradley, who has delivered clutch performances in late-game situations against Florida and UCLA earlier this season, credited his teammates and preparation.
“I would just say trusting in my work, you know, trusting in the coaches, you know, putting me in great positions and my teammates, you know, making sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, you know, on the court,” Bradley said.
The Huskies got to the free-throw line on the ensuing possession but could not convert. Arizona iced the game at the line, surviving a Demary Jr. three-pointer in the waning moments.
Rebounding, Physicality Key To Arizona Victory
Arizona’s 20-rebound advantage proved decisive. The Wildcats dominated in the paint (42-24) and in second-chance scoring (16-5), while UConn turned a plus-five turnover margin into just an 8-7 edge in points off miscues.
“That’s how we’re built,” Lloyd said of Arizona’s physical style. “You know, we know, you know, as you look at the landscape of college basketball, if you’re not up for the physical fight, it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be tough to be a team that wins consistently at a high level.”
Lloyd praised his team’s defensive approach against UConn’s complex, movement-heavy offense.
“What Danny and his staff have done with their offense is really kind of revolutionize the game,” Lloyd said. “It’s just a massive amount of movement. It’s actions layered on top of actions. The one thing I did figure out is number one and number 11 are really important. So we got to do a great job staying on their bodies.”
Arizona shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field, 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from three-point range, and 76.0 percent (19-of-25) from the foul line. UConn recorded 15 assists on 25 baskets against only five turnovers.
Looking Ahead
The Huskies fall to 45-3 in home non-conference games under head coach Dan Hurley and 46-6 (.885) in all non-conference games since the start of 2022-23. UConn is now 5-3 all-time against Arizona.
Ball scored in double figures for the 39th time in his career, Stewart for the 11th time, Demary Jr. for the 46th time and fourth as a Husky, and Reibe for the second time.
Lloyd emphasized that Arizona’s early-season success is just the beginning of a long journey.
“This win here isn’t going to mean we’re going to be a great team in January or February,” Lloyd said. “But the next two weeks of practice and our preparation—we’ll have more say in how we’re going to be down the line. So we’re going to get on the plane. We’re going to get home really late. We’re going to take tomorrow off, and then we’re just going to get back in the gym.”
UConn returns to action Sunday evening at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford to face Bryant. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on truTV.
- Attendance: 10,244
- Officials: John Gaffney, Ron Groover, Kipp Kissinger
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