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Holmes' late triple lifts Texas over UConn

Nov 30, 2014 - 10:48 PM Storrs, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - Jonathan Holmes drained a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift seventh-ranked Texas to a 55-54 victory over No. 24 Connecticut on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion.

Ryan Boatright missed the second of two free throws with 15 seconds to play, leaving Connecticut with a 54-52 lead. After a timeout by each team with 4.4 seconds left, Boatright couldn't fight through a screen on the inbounds pass and fell to the floor, leaving Holmes wide open in the corner for his winning shot.

The Huskies, without another timeout, were unable to get a shot away before time expired and suffered their second straight loss.

"They just executed a good play at the end," said Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie. "We called a time out. We wanted to switch everything and guard in the corner. I think Boatright rolled his ankle and couldn't get out to Holmes. A great execution play by them."

Holmes scored 13 points for the Longhorns (6-0), who played their first true road game of the season. DeMarcus Holland and Javan Felix each finished with 10 points in the victory.

Boatright, who had to be helped off the floor after the game, scored 24 to lead Connecticut (3-2), which hadn't played since a loss to West Virginia last Sunday in the title game of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.

"He was limping pretty bad," Ollie said about Boatright. "He hates missing practice. That's one guy I'm not going to be worried about getting back on the court."

The Longhorns carried a six-point lead to the break and continued to run in front early in the second half, opening 39-32 margin before UConn rallied. Boatright scored eight points during a 15-3 run, giving the Huskies a 43-42 lead with a layup, before a bucket by Sam Cassell Jr. capped the surge and made it 47-42 with nine minutes to play.

Texas managed only three free throws during the stretch before a three by Holmes ended the more than seven-minute drought. Felix missed a shot that would have tied it on the Longhorns' next trip and Boatright answered with a layup, followed by a steal and two free throws, to extend the UConn advantage to six.

The Huskies then went cold and five free throws allowed the Longhorns to draw within 51-50 with just over two minutes to play. Holmes missed a three from the top of the key and Felix threw the ball away on consecutive Texas possessions.

Boatright was fouled with 27.6 seconds remaining and calmly sunk a pair from the line before Felix drove to the hoop to again make it a one-point game with 19.2 seconds to go.

"We had some good looks. We were up five and we had some great looks," said Ollie. "We just couldn't convert and get us over that hump."

Connecticut stayed in the game by making 17-of-21 free throws to offset a 30.4 percent shooting effort. The Huskies also connected on only 3-of-16 from beyond the arc.

UConn scored the game's first four points, but Texas answered with the next 10 and the Longhorns built a 20-13 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left in the half on a bucket by Holland. The Huskies twice got as close as one prior to the intermission, the last time at 26-25 on a Cassell triple, but Felix answered with a three in the final minute and Holland went coast-to-coast for a layup to extend the Texas edge to 31-25 at the break.

Game Notes

Cassell finished with seven points, while Daniel Hamilton scored 13 for UConn ... The Longhorns shot just 37 percent and made 7-of-20 from 3-point range, led by a 4-of-7 effort from Holmes ... Texas guard Isaiah Taylor missed his third straight game with a left wrist injury ...The Longhorns improved to 3-5 all-time against UConn and won for the first time in three tries at Gampel Pavilion. The teams last met in January 2011 -- an 82-81 Connecticut win in Austin.