PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Shot after shot, No. 19 Auburn and No. 22 Connecticut went at every various apparently oblivious to stress from a dwindling clock in an ever-lengthening game on the Strive towards 4 Atlantis.
It might perchance well perchance also were an early season match, nonetheless it felt deal with a March-esque thriller — excellent as a lot as the second time beyond law when Tyler Polley and Adama Sonogo helped the Huskies in the slay wrestle away a 115-109 double-time beyond law victory in Wednesday’s first round.
“Moderately excellent tip for November, excellent?” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl acknowledged.
Certainly, the first two-time beyond law game in the event’s 10-year historical past had heaps: big shots, clutch responses, frenetic sequences, even avid gamers diving on the bottom for a free rebound in the final seconds of a two-possession game with the tip consequence determined.
Onerous? Chaotic? Thrilling? UConn coach Dan Hurley would indulge in all of the above.
“Now that it is likely you’ll perchance even bear an opportunity to relax and evaluate how many various suggestions it might perchance perchance also’ve went the assorted diagram in law, or actually from the 5-minute trace your total diagram by to the second time beyond law,” Hurley acknowledged. “Genuine a multitude of things that went on that had been solutions-boggling, solutions-numbing.”
Polley scored a career-excessive 24 parts and hit the accelerate-ahead 3-pointer with 2: 58 left in the second time beyond law, and had moreover hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 12.5 seconds left in law. He done 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
Sanogo had a career-handiest 30 parts and stayed on the bottom irrespective of playing extreme slack minutes with four fouls for the Huskies (5-0), who blew a 15-point lead in law and squandered a lead slack in the first time beyond law. But the two blended for UConn’s first 14 parts of the second time beyond law as UConn in the slay pushed ahead for excellent.
“I positively thought a excellent different of instances we might perchance perchance also’ve had the game won,” acknowledged R.J. Cole, who had 24 parts for UConn. “They weren’t going to transfer with out a strive towards and we knew that. So we persisted to excellent consult with every various and care for pushing, lustrous that it’s now not going to be easy and we’re going to must strive towards for this one to procure the have interaction.”
Good enough.D. Johnson and high freshman Jabari Smith had their possess astronomical performances for the Tigers (3-1). Johnson scored 23 of his career-excessive 27 parts after halftime, along with riding baskets in the final seconds of law and the first time beyond law to develop the game.
“I became once excellent making an strive to attain anything else to procure a W,” Johnson acknowledged. “I wasn’t actually targeted on anything else, one of the indispensable most realistic ways it became once going. I became once excellent making an strive to procure a have interaction.”