Defense was the name of the game in Stoors, Connecticut on Sunday, but it was a gutsy offensive play that sent #7 Texas past #24 UConn.
With his team trailing by two in the waning seconds, the Longhorns' Jonathan Holmes nailed a baseline three-pointer off an inbounds pass that put the Longhorns ahead 55-54. UConn chose not to call a timeout and failed to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.
Holmes finished with 13 points to lead the Longhorns, while Demarcus Holland and Javan Felix each chipped in 10. No other Texas player scored more than seven points in a matchup of top defensive teams.
UConn was led by the 24 points from Ryan Boatright, who injured his ankle on the play that resulted in Holmes’ game winner. Boatright appeared to step on a teammate’s foot during the play allowing Homes to break costless into the corner. He lay in agony after the final whistle, as the Huskies’ trainer, James Doran, attended to him. Doran said that Boatright will be fine.
"It hurts." Boatright said to ESPN, which televised the game. "I'm a dawg, I'll be back."
UConn played only seven players for significant minutes while Texas countered with an eight-man rotation. Both teams struggled shooting the ball as Texas went 37% from the field while UConn managed to hit only 30% of its attempts.
Boatright missed the back end of a one-and-one costless throw set which allowed Texas to go ahead for good. Daniel Hamilton added 13 points for the Huskies while Sam Cassell, Jr., son of former NBA star Sam Cassell, logged 24 minutes of game time but managed only 7 points on 2-11 shooting. Rodney Purvis, an integral part of the UConn rotation, missed the game due an ankle sprain.
Overall, it was an outstanding early season contest between two storied programs. UConn, who is trying to make its way without Shabazz Napier, who led the Huskies to last year’s national championship, while the Longhorns are happy to be back amongst the top ranked teams in the country.
Texas moves to 6-0 with the win, while UConn has lost two games in a row to fall to 3-2.
