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NEW YORK (AP) — Liam McNeeley scored 26 points for 18th place University of Connecticutthat fended off a series of attacks from No. 8 Gonzaga to win 77-71 in a Hall of Fame Series showdown at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Tarris Reed Jr. scored 12 points and Jaylin Stewart added 10 for two-time defending national champion UConn (8-3) as head coach Dan HurleyVictory number 300.
Battle of the Caliph had 21 points, Ryan Nembhard finished with 16 points and Michael Ajayi He added 14 points for Gonzaga (7-3), which fell to 2-6 all-time against UConn.
UConn opened the game on a 13-2 run and led 43-40 at the half. Gonzaga tied the game at 55 on consecutive 3-pointers by Battle and Nembhard before the Huskies scored the next 10 points.
The Bulldogs got within 73-70 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Ajayi with 3:25 left, but Nembhard missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer early. Alex Karaban He scored a layup as the shot clock expired with one minute left.
Takeaway meals
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs, who fell to then-No. 4 Kentucky 90-89 in overtime on Dec. 7, have lost two straight games for the first time since Dec. 9-15, 2018.
University of Connecticut: Samson Johnson He exited with 11:09 left in the first half after hitting the ground hard while trying to block a Battle layup.
Key moment
Stewart scored five straight points on a UConn timeout to spark the Huskies’ decisive 10-0 run.
Key Statistics
Gonzaga shot 35.5 percent in the second half, as the Bulldogs missed six layups or short point-blank jumpers.
Next
UConn opens Big East play on Wednesday by hosting Xavier in Hartford. Gonzaga also returns home on Wednesday, when the Bulldogs play Nicholls State.