In a battle of top 5 teams, No. 4 Arizona overwhelmed shorthanded UConn inside to hand the third-ranked Huskies a 71-67 loss at home in a Wednesday night thriller.
The Wildcats built a 53-40 second-half lead, then fended off a late Huskies comeback. UConn rallied to take its first lead of the second half at 62-60 with 3:02 remaining. But Arizona maintained its composure in front of a frenetic UConn home crowd to win the back-and-forth battle down the stretch.
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A Jaden Bradley layup in traffic secured a 67-64 Arizona advantage with 16 seconds remaining. And the Huskies didn’t lead again.
Bradley led the Arizona scoring effort with 21 points. And as has been the case throughout the college basketball season, a freshman took a leading role in victory.
Arizona forward Koa Peat logged another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds as a UConn team playing without All-Big East center Tarris Reed Jr. struggled to compete in the paint.
Peat was one of two Arizona players with double-digit rebounds, joined by Motiejus Krivas, who tallied a game-high 14 rebounds. And the Wildcats dominated the glass with a 43-23 rebounding advantage to overcome a 2-of-10 shooting night from 3.
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This story will be updated.
