No. 4 UConn men’s basketball rolled to a comfortable win in its first exhibition game of the 2025-26 season Monday night, taking down Boston College 71-52 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Despite a valiant comeback from the Eagles to kick off the second half, the Huskies’ size and talent ultimately prevailed for a convincing win despite missing presumed starters Silas Demary Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr.
Demary and Reed missed the matchup with the Eagles with calf and hamstring injuries respectively. Per the team, Demary is listed as day-to-day, while Reed and his hamstring will be evaluated more closely over the coming weeks and will likely miss the Huskies’ last exhibition on Oct. 28 against Michigan State.
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“We were missing our two best defensive players, our center and point guard,” head coach Dan Hurley said. “I was happy with our performance overall.”
Alex Karaban led the way for the Huskies with 17 points, and added 11 rebounds and four assists. As BC took its first and only lead of the game in the second half with an 8-0 run, Karaban spurred a UConn comeback. The senior took the ball to the hoop and missed a layup in traffic, but Le Moyne transfer Dwayne Koroma cleaned it up to put UConn up 41-40. On the next possession, a right shoe-less Karaban hit a three to stretch the lead to four and firmly put the Huskies ahead for good.
“We showed great flashes of what we can do offensively and defensively,” Karaban said. “I thought we battled through adversity during stretches of the game.”
With Demary and Reed out, Malachi Smith and Eric Reibe slid into the starting lineup and performed well in their UConn debuts. Smith’s speed and defensive intensity shined through as the Dayton transfer scored seven points and added five assists and three rebounds.
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“My job is to bring a lot of energy to the team,” Smith said. “Pick my guys up, make it easier on my teammates.”
Reibe had eight points and six rebounds in 21 minutes of action, and looked comfortable on offense despite missing a handful of layups around the rim in his first taste of collegiate action.
Aside from Karaban, only Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins reached double figures for the Huskies. Ball scored 12 points but was just 1-8 from the 3-point line. Despite the poor shooting performance, the junior looked comfortable getting to the rim and initiating the offense at times with Demary unavailable. Mullins played sparingly after earning the start and scored seven of his dozen points in the final two minutes with the game out of reach.
While UConn was in control for the majority of the game, BC closed the gap towards the end of the first half, whittling down a a first-half lead that was as much as 16 points with 3:40 to play to eight before halftime. With the Eagles’ fast second-half start, the Huskies trailed by as much as three points before their 13-0 run put them in the driver’s seat for good.
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“We had foul trouble… We haven’t practiced a lot of small-ball lineup,” Hurley said. “We ended the first half bad and started the second half bad. It was good to have to some adversity… It makes me more of a believer in the team. To be able to play a high-major, ACC team without two starters, your two best defensive players.”
For major stretches, especially early on, it was abundantly clear that this was early season basketball with teams that still have not had an opportunity to practice much together. Both teams played their entire roster of eligible players, and the game featured 26 total turnovers, although 20 were from Boston College. Neither team shot particularly well, as BC shot 32 percent from the field and 18 percent from three, while UConn was 38 percent from the field and 24 percent from beyond the arc.
BC’s Donald Hand Jr. led all scorers with 23 points, including a 12-18 performance from the free throw line. UConn’s Jaylin Stewart added seven points and three rebounds, while Jayden Ross added four points and was an impressive +26 in just 17 minutes of action.
The Huskies will return to practice for another two weeks before welcoming Michigan State to a newly-renovated PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford on Oct. 28. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
