Second-half run pushes No. 9 UConn past Georgetown

Alex Karaban scored 19 points as No. 9 UConn used a strong second-half run to defeat Georgetown 68-60 on Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C.

Karaban scored 12 in the second half, connecting on 3 of 3 3-point attempts, as UConn (13-4, 5-1 Big East) bounced back from a 68-66 loss at Villanova on Wednesday.

Solo Ball added 15 points as the Huskies, who have won nine of their last 10 games overall, have won nine straight over longtime conference rival Georgetown.

UConn started the second half on a 17-2 run to take a commanding 52-33 lead after a Samson Johnson dunk with 14:31 left. Johnson finished with nine points and five rebounds.

Georgetown's first field goal after the break came with 14:01 remaining on a Micah Peavy layup. The Huskies limited the Hoyas to 38.8 percent shooting from the field for the game and just eight second-half field goals. UConn shot 46.4 percent overall.

Karaban' 3-pointer pushed UConn's lead to 61-39 with 9:21 remaining. The Huskies' leading scorer played the entire 40 minutes after missing two free throws that could have tied the game with 3.1 seconds left in the Villanova loss. Karaban and Ball combined to connect on 7 of 14 3-point attempts.

UConn has won 28 of its last 31 Big East regular season games.

Curtis Williams Jr. scored a season-high 15 points off the bench, Peavy added 14 and Thomas Sorber chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds for Georgetown (12-4, 4-2), which has lost two straight.

Jayden Epps, Georgetown's second-leading scorer (14.7 ppg), returned after missing two of the last three games with a lower-body injury. Epps scored three points in 14 minutes off the bench.

The Hoyas have lost 20 straight games to AP Top 25 teams dating back to the 2021 Big East Tournament.

Liam McNeeley, the Huskies' second-leading scorer (13.6 ppg), missed his third straight game with a high ankle sprain.

UConn led 35-31 at halftime on 51.9 percent shooting while the Hoyas shot 44 percent.

The Huskies took their largest first half lead at 35-26 after an Ahmad Nowell jumper with 2:17 remaining. The Hoyas closed the half on a 5-0 run ending with a 3-pointer from Epps with 14 seconds left.

Peavy's jumper with 12:47 left put the Hoyas up 13-7. The Huskies took their first lead at 15-13 on a layup by Aidan Mahaney with 9:38 to play. Karaban finished off the 10-0 run with a layup thirty seconds later. UConn never trailed again.

--Field Level Media