Jaden Bradley’s game-high 21 points included a clutch layup with 16 seconds left in regulation to lift No. 4 Arizona to a 71-67 road win over No. 3 UConn in an early-season showdown on Wednesday night in Storrs, Conn.
The Wildcats (5-0) used a late 7-0 run to turn a 1-point deficit into a lead that they would never relinquish en route to their third win over a ranked team this season. A jump-hood by Motiejus Krivas (9 points, 14 rebounds) in the lane with 1:12 left proved to be the game-winning shot.
Bradley’s lay-up extended the lead to 67-64 and a pair of missed free throws by UConn’s Eric Reibe on the ensuing possession had the Huskies in catch-up mode with not enough time remaining. Arizona’s Tobe Akawa hit all four free throw attempts in the final six seconds to seal the road victory.
Star freshman Koa Peat added a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double for Arizona, which shot 51.9% in the second half and had a 43-23 advantage on the glass in the game.
Reibe had a team-high 15 points and four boards to lead UConn (4-1), which had a streak of 36 consecutive nonconference home wins snapped. He was one of four double-figure scorers.
Solo Ball tallied 14 points, but misfired on 7 of 8 from beyond the arc. Silas Demary Jr. added 13 points.
Malachi Smith had eight assists and sunk a jumper with 2:16 left to give the Huskies their last lead of the night, capping a 12-4 run.
Arizona opened the second half on an 18-7 run to expand its 35-33 halftime lead to 53-40 with 13:34 to play.
The Huskies climbed right back into the game thereafter, as a Jayden Ross 3-pointer in between two Demary Jr. jumpers nearly sliced the lead in half 3 1/2 minutes later.
Trailing 58-52, Eric Reibe’s layup and an Alex Karaban 3-pointer sliced the deficit to 58-57 with 4:41 left. Reibe knocked down a tying trey before Jaylin Stewart finished Karaban’s drop-off inside to give UConn its first lead since 22-21, but the Wildcats surged late.
The first half featured five ties and eight lead changes.
Early free throw shooting helped UConn erase Arizona’s quick 4-0 start with a 6-0 run. After a Reibe 3-point play opened the Huskies’ scoring, Solo Ball scored 10 of the team’s next 12 points and hit the team’s first triple to make it a 15-14 lead.
Neither team led by more than four for the rest of the first half. Peat dropped an inside lob pass for a 3-point play at the rim with 4:27 left, but Stewart’s trey was one of just two UConn field goals in the final 4:03. Demary, Jr.’s driving layup with five seconds to play in the half cut the Arizona lead to 35-33 at intermission.
UConn played without starting center Tarris Reed Jr. due to an ankle injury.
