Karaban Scores 18 in Win Over Nova
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
The UConn Huskies advanced to the semifinals of the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament after outlasting the Villanova Wildcats 73-56 Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Huskies were sluggish compared to the Wildcats, which was possibly due to the late night start due to the previous match between DePaul and Creighton that went to double overtime. It wasn’t until midway through the second half of the game, when UConn awoke and sprung into action.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the 1st half, whether it was fouling or letting Poplar get to the rim easily or missing a ball screen defense,” said Alex Karaban about what made the game more difficult before UConn’s comeback. “So we just tightened those mistakes up and we just took more pride.”
UConn fell behind early as Wooga Poplar made a jumper in the first half to give Villanova a 7-6 lead, which the Wildcats held onto until the second half of the game. UConn trailed Villanova 36-31 at halftime. Liam McNeeley led UConn with seven points and Poplar led the Wildcats with 15 points at the time.
UConn was slow to start after returning from halftime, but picked up the pace halfway into the half. They pushed back after to tie the the game at 46 .
“They turned their defensive intensity up,” said Wildcats Coach Kyle Neptune about what changed. “We were able to keep them out the lane for a good portion of the first half and the begging of the second half. The started really attacking the rim and we couldn’t keep them out.”
UConn did not allow Villanova to regain the lead.
“You got to give them credit,” Coach Neptune said. “Dan Hurley is a big time coach. He put them in great situations and they kind of switched their strategy a little bit.”
Karaban led the Huskies with 18 total points in the game Poplar had a game high 25 points. The Huskies move ahead to take on the Creighton Bluejays Men’s basketball team Friday night.
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