Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins scored 17 points apiece to lift No. 5 UConn to a 61-56 victory over No. 21 Kansas on Tuesday in Lawrence, Kan.
Ball and Mullins each sank three 3-pointers while sending the Huskies (7-1) to their third straight win.
UConn’s Eric Reibe collected 12 points and eight rebounds while making the start in place of Tarris Reed Jr. The latter sat out his fourth game this season, this time due to an ankle injury.
Alex Karaban added 11 points and six boards for the Huskies, who held a 30-20 edge in points in the paint.
Kansas’ Melvin Council Jr. scored 12 points and Flory Bidunga added 11 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Elmarko Jackson had 11 points off the bench for the Jayhawks (6-3), who saw their three-game overall winning streak and 23-game nonconference home winning streak come to a halt.
Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson missed his seventh straight game due to a hamstring injury.
Ball scored his first points of the second half by recording a putback and a 3-pointer, boosting the Huskies’ lead to 55-49 with 5:35 remaining. Bidunga’s emphatic dunk and Council’s 3-pointer brought the Jayhawks back within one.
Reibe and Karaban each made a layup to give UConn some breathing room before Jackson sank one of his own with 58 seconds left. Jackson, however, was unable to convert the three-point play as the Jayhawks remained down 59-56.
Kansas made a defensive stop at the other end, and Jamari McDowell’s off-balance shot from the interior was off the mark. Mullins, a freshman, sank the first two free-throw attempts of his career to seal the win.
Karaban made a 3-pointer and two layups to give UConn a 45-44 advantage near the midpoint of the second half, marking the Huskies’ first lead since they held a 9-7 edge.
Kansas was up 33-29 at halftime due in large part to its 22-13 advantage in rebounds, including 7-3 at the offensive end. Ball kept UConn within earshot by sinking two 3-pointers to highlight his 12-point first-half performance.
