Freshman Braylon Mullins scored a career-high 24 points and hit two of his six 3-pointers in overtime as No. 4 UConn erased a double-digit deficit in the second half en route to a 103-98 win at Providence on Wednesday night.
Mullins hit an early jumper and a three during a 7-3 start to the overtime session, and after the hosts scored the next three points, he sank another long-distance shot with 1:53 left.
Silas Demary Jr.’s jumper with 11 seconds left clinched an 11th straight win for UConn (15-1, 5-0 Big East).
Three other Huskies reached the 20-point plateau. Demary had 23 points and 15 assists, Alex Karaban also scored 23 and Tarris Reed Jr. scored 16 of his 20 points after halftime and added eight rebounds.
Ryan Mela scored a team-high 19 points while Jamier Jones (18 points) and Duncan Powell each scored three 3-pointers for Providence (8-7, 1-3), which shot 59% in the first half and led by double digits as late as the 3:12 mark in the second half.
A Mullins jumper gave UConn a 30-26 lead before Providence stormed ahead with an 11-0 run. Corey Floyd Jr.’s driving finish forced a timeout before his straight-on three capped the spurt with 3:34 to go in the first half.
Jason Edwards canned a wing trey to give Providence its first 10-point lead with 2:25 left.
The margin reached 13 as Jaylin Sellers sank a free throw following a Dan Hurley technical foul and completed a 3-point play within 2:15 to start the second half.
A Demary triple and Reed layup before the midway mark of the period had UConn in a five-point game, but an 11-3 run widened Providence’s edge. Powell and Mela both hit treys during that segment, the latter making it a double-digit lead again.
The Friars were up 11 with 3:12 left, but UConn benefited from three turnovers during a 9-0 run and clawed within 86-84 with 1:32 to go.
Sellers’ trey with 1:07 left made it an 89-84 Providence lead, but Karaban’s response and a Reed second-chance layup in the final minute forced overtime.
–Field Level Media
