Mahoney scores 20, leads No. 11 Creighton past No. 23 UConn
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Denzel Mahoney scored 20 points and 11th-ranked Creighton broke open a close game in the last 10 minutes to beat No. 23 Connecticut 74-66 Saturday.
The Bluejays (11-4, 7-3 Big East), who struggled offensively while losing their previous two games, shot 58% in the second half and avoided their first three-game losing streak since February 2019.
Mahoney made 8 of 14 shots from the field after going 1 for 10 against Providence on Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}R.J. Cole scored 14 points and freshman Adama Sanogo had a season-high 13 to lead UConn (7-3, 4-3).
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The Huskies played their fourth straight game without scoring leader James Bouknight, who is recovering from elbow surgery. He scored a career-high 40 points in the Huskies’ 76-74 overtime loss to Creighton last month in Connecticut.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sanogo dunked to tie it at 48 before Mahoney started a 14-2 spurt that gave the Bluejays a cushion with six minutes left.
Back-to-back 3s by Isaiah Whaley and Brendan Adams cut the lead in half, but Mitch Ballock hit a shot in the lane and Marcus Zegarowski scored on a blow-by to make it a 10-point game again.
Zegarowski scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half and Damien Jefferson added 12 for the Bluejays.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Huskies’ offensive struggles carried over from their 74-70 loss to St. John’s on Monday. They missed 22 of their first 27 shots, including eight layups, before Cole scored eight points to lead a flurry that pulled them to 29-28 at half.
Tyler Polley, averaging 10 points per game and the Huskies’ best 3-point shooter, was held scoreless.
UConn had its five-game road win streak end.
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UConn: The Huskies are mired in an offensive slump without Bouknight, and it couldn't happen at a worse time. They're in the middle of a stretch of seven games in 23 days.
Creighton: The Bluejays desperately needed this win to keep pace in the Big East race. The 3-point shooting started to come around in the second half. They still need more out of Ballock, who is just 2 of 14 on 3s over his last three games.
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UConn hosts Butler on Tuesday.
Creighton visits Seton Hall on Wednesday.