STORRS, Conn. (AP) - UConn had not won three games in a row this season before capping off a memorable six-day stretch on Saturday night with a come-from-behind victory over Tulane.
The Huskies, down to six healthy regulars because of injury, battled fatigue and foul trouble to beat the Green Wave 78-68.
“Three games, three wins in a week with six guys, that’s my definition of perseverance,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie.
UConn’s big men led the way before fouling out late. Kentan Facey scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Amida Brimah added 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots for the Huskies (10-11, 5-4 American Athletic Conference).
Melvin Frazier had 14 points to lead five players in double figures for Tulane (4-17, 1-8), which lost its fifth in a row.
Tulane led by as many as 13 points in the first half before UConn battled back to trail by just two at halftime. The Green Wave used an early second-half run to push the lead back to eight.
UConn responded a short time later with an 8-0 run of its own, tying the game at 50 on a lob from Jalen Adams to Brimah and taking its first lead since 2-0 on a pair of Brimah free throws the next trip down the floor.
But the Huskies center picked up his fourth foul with 8 ½ minutes left and the game tied at 52.
With the 7-footer on the bench and UConn down 56-52, the 6-foot-10 Facey took over. He scored eight points during a 17-0 UConn run that put the game away.
“We just knew we had to punch back,” Facey said. “They were coming at us from all angles. They were shooting the ball well early in the game. But, we came back with a stronger defensive mindset and that kind of helped us.”
Tulane, which shot 42.4 percent in the first half, made just 30.6 percent of its shots in the second. The Green Wave finished 5 of 23 from 3-point range.
“We had a lot of great looks tonight,” said Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. “I think we were two of our last 19 from the 3-point line and a lot of them were just wide-open looks.”
BIG PICTURE
Tulane: The Green Wave’s losing streak is the third this season of at least five games. They have lost 10 of their last 11.
“We’ve had a lot of games where we’re playing great for probably 33 of the minutes,” said Dunleavy. “We just have some drop offs and can’t get things done.”
UConn: The Huskies are hoping to get some reinforcements soon. UConn has played the last three games with just six scholarship players after center Steven Enoch suffered a stress injury to his right foot and forward Juwan Durham sprained his left foot. Both could be back next week. The Huskies already have lost guard Alterique Gilbert and forwards Mamadou Diarra and Terry Larrier for the season with injuries.
ADAMS OFF NIGHT
UConn guard Jalen Adams, who came in averaging 15.4 points, made just three of his 15 shots from the floor. He finished with eight points and six assists. Guards Christian Vital and Rodney Purvis picked up the slack, each finishing with 14 points. Vital also had 10 rebounds.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
The teams combined for 42 personal fouls. UConn made 30 of its 35 free throw attempts, while Tulane was just 13 of 22 from the line.
“I would imagine that is the most free throws we have shot in a game this season,” Ollie said. “They put their heads down and attacked the basket and did a great job.”
UP NEXT
Tulane heads back to New Orleans to host Temple on Tuesday night.
UConn gets a week off before visiting conference leader Cincinnati next Saturday.
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