Braylon Mullins scored 22 points on five 3-pointers and Na’jai Hines posted 17 of his career-high 20 points to key a second-half surge by No. 4 UConn in its 84-68 victory over visiting Ohio State on Friday in Hartford, Conn.
The Huskies (4-0) used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to break open a game they led by two at halftime and was tied with 15 minutes remaining in regulation.
Colben Landrew added 12 points and Silas Demary Jr. had 10 points and nine assists for UConn, which shot a season-best 61.2% from the field, including 47.4% from 3-point range.
Jimmie Williams had 17 points, John Mobley Jr. added 16 and Amare Bynum had 11 points and five rebounds for the Buckeyes (2-2), who committed 16 turnovers.
Junior County sank a triple to start a 12-2 run by the hosts, which stretched their lead to 26-13 with 10:55 to go in the opening period. A Demary bucket and back-to-back 3s by Mullins highlighted the spurt.
Ohio State cut into that lead with a 7-2 run, keyed by consecutive baskets from Ivan Njegovan. Landrew and Mullins then finished three-point plays to deliver a 6-0 run.
Egor Amosov’s desperation corner 3 punctuated another 7-2 stretch and give the Huskies a 41-27 lead with 4:19 left.
That turned out to be his team’s last field goal before halftime. The Buckeyes went into the break on a 13-1 run to make the score 42-40. A tough bucket from Williams brought Ohio State within 10 before Williams hit two free throws and a transition layup, and Mobley hit a step-back 3 in the closing seconds.
Justin Pippen’s 3-pointer 1:14 into the second half gave the Buckeyes their first lead, 45-44. That started a back-and-forth sequence that featured four ties. Williams scored nine straight Ohio State points during that stretch, including a triple at the 16:49 mark.
Mullins scored five straight points, including a go-ahead 3, as part of a 12-2 run that gave UConn an eight-point lead, 62-54, with 12:19 to go.
Jayden Ross started a 7-0 spurt to finish the run with his own trey. After a Williams layup broke the streak with the visitors’ first field goal in three-plus minutes, the Huskies rattled off another seven points. A Hines layup and three-point play with 8:53 left put UConn up 69-56.
UConn made it a 16-point game as Mullins sank his fifth triple. The lead only grew to 18 after Hines’ second-chance layup in the final minute.
–Field Level Media
