University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
14-11,5-7AAC
University of Memphis
17-8,6-6AAC
Huskies Knock Off Memphis in Hartford
2/16/2020 6:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, Conn. – The UConn men's basketball team grabbed a major win Sunday afternoon as it knocked off the Memphis Tigers, 64-61, in front of a raucous sellout XL Center crowd.
Christian Vital led the charge for the Huskies with a game-high 23 points, also chipping in nine rebounds and three assists. James Bouknight was the second UConn player in double figures after pouring in 18 points to go with his eight rebounds. On the defensive end, Josh Carlton pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and Isaiah Whaley added seven boards and a team-best six blocks.
Memphis came out fast, taking a 10-4 lead after the first media timeout. The Huskies answered with a triple from Vital, then back-to-back basket by Carlton and Whaley to shrink the Memphis lead to two. The Tigers held a 21-15 lead at the 5:21 mark of the first, but UConn put together a 10-4 run to go into the half tied 25-25.
Vital scored 18 of his 23 in the second period, and the Huskies went 14-16 from the fouls stripe in the second half. Memphis opened up a five-point lead, 41-36, with just under 12 minutes to play, but UConn responded with five quick points from their senior leader. Vital crashed the glass and put home a second-chance layup, then drilled a triple from the corner following Whaley's block.
The next several minutes was a back-and-forth affair, featuring two ties and four lead changes as the teams swapped buckets. The Huskies took a 58-52 lead with 54 seconds left after holding Memphis without a field goal for nearly three minutes. Bouknight was electric during this period as he scored seven of UConn's nine points.
The Tigers cut the UConn lead to two with 10 seconds remaining, but Vital stepped up to the stripe and drained four free throws to ice the game.
