Colorado hands No. 2 UConn second straight loss in Maui

Field Level Media|published: Tue 26th November, 18:02 2024

NCAA Basketball: Maui Invitational-UCONN at Colorado

Nov 26, 2024; Lahaina, Hawaii, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Javon Ruffin (11) drives past Connecticut Huskies forward Jayden Ross (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Lahaina Civic Center. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Andrej Jakimovski hit a layup with 8 seconds left, and Colorado upset No. 2 UConn 73-72 in the consolation bracket of the Maui Invitational on Tuesday in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Colorado (5-1) rallied from down 11 in the first half to get the win over the two-time defending national champions Huskies.

Jakimovski finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Julian Hammond III and Elijah Malone each scored 16 for the Buffaloes, who advanced to the fifth-place game in Maui on Wednesday.

Down 72-71, Jakimovski drove the right side of the lane and made a scoop shot as he was falling down. UConn called timeout to set up the final play but Hassan Diarra missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

Liam McNeeley led UConn with 20 points, Solo Ball scored 16 and Diarra finished with 11. The Huskies (4-2) lost two straight for the first time since dropping three in a row from Jan. 11-18, 2023.

Colorado trailed by eight at halftime and Diarra hit two 3-pointers early in the second half that made it 46-37. The Buffaloes scored the next 11 points to take a 48-46 lead, their first of the game. Hammond bookended that run with a pair of triples.

UConn went back in front 55-52 on Tarris Reed Jr.'s driving layup but Malone's bucket with 8:34 left tied it at 59.

McNeeley's hook shot gave the Huskies a 63-60 lead before Jakimovski drained a 3-pointer to tie it again with 5:16 left.

Ball hit a 3-pointer and a layup to give UConn a five-point lead but Colorado got within 70-69 on two free throws by Malone with 2:04 left. A putback from Jaylin Stewart made it a three-point game with 1:29 remaining.

Malone answered with a layup, Javon Ruffin blocked Diarra's shot and Colorado got an offensive rebound with 24 seconds left to set up the winning basket.

McNeeley made his first four shots from deep and had 16 points by intermission to lead the Huskies. Colorado had opportunities to make it a close game by halftime but went just 12-for-19 from the foul line and trailed 40-32.

UConn attempted only four free throws in the first half and had five players with two or more fouls, including Reed, who had three.

--Field Level Media