No. 2 UConn takes down No. 15 Furman in NCAA tourney first round

PHILADELPHIA (WFSB) - Second-seeded UConn’s NCAA Tournament First Round matchup tipped off late Friday night.

UConn defeated 15th-seeded Furman out of South Carolina at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The final at 12:25 a.m. Saturday was 82-71.

Game updates

Tip off time was pushed to about 10:30 due to the length of prior games at the same venue.

CT Insider reported that both Silas Demary Jr. and Jaylin Stewart were ruled out due to injuries.

UConn scored the first 6 points of the game before Furman got on the board.

Tarris Reed Jr. grabbed an early 7 rebounds.

However, Furman stayed within striking distance 5 minutes into the game. The Paladins trailed 12-10 after they hit a three.

Braylon Mullins hit a bucket to separate the Huskies a bit at the 14:33 mark. UConn led 14-10.

Furman’s Alex Wilkins bombed the Huskies from the 3 point line. He had 11 points at the 11 minute mark. UConn still led 18-15.

That Paladins grabbed the lead on a pair of foul shots at about the 10 min. mark.

It was short lived. Reed garnered an early double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds with 8:50 to go in the half to give UConn back the lead, 24-19.

The Huskies had a 16-8 advantage in points in the paint.

It was a 2-point game with 5:30 to go until halftime.

Furman’s 3 pointers kept them close every time the Huskies tried to pull away.

It was 35-33 UConn with 2:14 to go in the first half.

Mullins pushed the lead to 7 when he scored his 10th point of the half.

However, he failed to hold for the final shot of the half. He missed a 3, which allowed a Furman 3 on the other end before time expired.

Reed finished with 31 points and 27 rebounds.

At the half, UConn led 40-36.

Alex Karaban opened the second half with a deuce.

Karaban got the lead up to 10, 50-40, with his 14th point and forced the Paladins to call a timeout at the 17:24 mark of the second half.

Furman’s Tom House got it back to a two-possession game with 14 min to go, 56-50.

However, Reed scored his career high 25th point at the foul line to put UConn back up by 8.

The lead was back to 10 at the 10 min. mark thanks to a Solo Ball layup. It was 65-55.

A House 3 and Ben Vander Wal layup made it a 6 point game with 6:59 to go.

Mullins got a steal and dished it to Reed for a breakaway jam at about the 4:30 mark. UConn led 72-65.

Reed was an offensive rebounding machine. He had 26 at that point.

Karaban put them up 11 with 1:52 to go.

Reed scored his 31st point at the free throw line.

Time was running out for the Paladins with Mullins at the line with less than a minute to go. He iced a 1-and-1 to give UConn its largest lead, 80-67.

From that point, Furman played the foul game and UConn put the game away at the line.

UConn seeks redemption

UConn sought to rebound from its disastrous Big East Tournament Championship game. St. John’s crushed the Huskies 72-52 on Saturday.

The team has a tough road to the Final Four. The East Region is stacked with good teams and legendary coaches.

Teams that could pose a problem for the Huskies include overall top seed Duke, St. John’s, Michigan State, and Louisville.

What’s next

The team will face 7th-seeded UCLA in the Second Round on Sunday at approximately 8:45 p.m.

Following along

Eyewitness News has been with the Huskies every step of the way. Channel 3’s Dan Booth arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Follow his journey here.

Stay with WFSB for continuing coverage of UConn’s post-season trek.