NEWARK, N.J. — It was devastation on the road once again for the UConn men’s basketball team, losing this time at Seton Hall in a nailbiter at the Prudential Center, 67-66, on Wednesday.
The Huskies held a 14-point lead at halftime, but a second-half collapse left them facing a one-point deficit with 1:10 left in the game.
A pair of free throws from Tristen Newton flipped the one-point difference back in the favor of the Huskies. With 15.7 seconds left, Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway drew up a play that left Femi Odukale wide open on the wing for 3. He missed, but K.C. Ndefo was down low to collect the rebound and flipped it back in while being fouled with 1.6 seconds left.
UConn is now 1-4 on the road in Big East play, and has lost six of its last seven games.
The game started with a 10-2 UConn lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Jordan Hawkins before the Pirates brought the game within four with a pair of layups.
The UConn offense got sloppy in the middle portion of the half, with missed shots and turnovers allowing the Pirates to hang around, but quickly responded without their head coach or his second-in-command leading from the sideline.
Instead of head coach Dan Hurley and second-in-command Kimani Young, who both tested positive for COVID before the team left for New Jersey, it was Luke Murray standing along the court with his hands settled on his hips, and Tom Moore on the edge of his seat.
The Huskies’ lead back at four after defensive breakdowns led to a pair of fouls in the paint, Donovan Clingan provided a spark with an and-one layup down low. As the Pirates tried and missed three straight 3-pointers, the Huskies made them pay in transition. Andre Jackson leading the way for back-to-back 3-pointers from Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton. Then, a dunk from Clingan and another 3-pointer from Karaban capped off a 12-1 scoring run and extended the Huskies’ lead to 34-19 with 3:37 on the clock in the first half.
Hawkins added another 3 just before halftime to give the Huskies a 40-26 lead at the break.
Jackson grabbed nine rebounds in the first half and facilitated the transition attack for UConn which resembled the way the team performed before the losing skid began.
But as the second half began, UConn’s lackadaisical defense and rhythmless offense returned.
Seton Hall guard Al-Amir Dawes made the Huskies pay with seven consecutive points that brought the score within eight. After Kadary Richmond converted an and-one layup, Ndefo punched home an electrifying dunk over Jackson that minimized the UConn lead to just three points.
Twelve second-half turnovers lulled the Huskies’ offense into a shooting drought of over six minutes, allowing the Seton Hall run, but a 3-pointer from Jackson paired with a Clingan dunk through contact and another deep-ball from Joey Calcaterra provided a seven-point lead and signs of life.
Both teams turned the ball over, both teams took bad shots, but it was Richmond who gave the Pirates their first lead of the game with a layup at the 1:10 mark after a thunderous dunk from Odukale brought the Prudential Center crowd to its feet.
UConn shot 29.2% from the field in the second half compared to 46.9% in the first. The Huskies 18 total turnovers were double Seton Hall’s nine.
Sanogo led the way with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, while Hawkins provided 13.
The Huskies return home on Sunday for a matchup with Butler at the XL Center.
