UConn vs. Syracuse: Score and Reaction from 2016 New York Showcase

One of the best rivalries from the old Big East created another exciting battle Monday night, when the Connecticut Huskies edged the Syracuse Orange 52-50 in an impressive victory that came down to the final seconds.

Orange guard Andrew White III tied the game at 50-50 with just 12 seconds remaining, but a foul on Tyus Battle sent UConn's Christian Vital to the free-throw line with 2.2 seconds left. The freshman made both attempts to hand the Huskies a shocking win at Madison Square Garden.

ESPN's Adam Finkelstein gave his thoughts on the 19-year-old's clutch shots:

Syracuse led for much of the game and was up by double digits late, but a six-minute scoring drought allowed the Huskies to take over down the stretch. UConn's 13-of-23 mark at the free-throw line allowed the Orange to tie things up again, but it wasn't enough to pull out the win.

Both teams struggled Monday, combining to shoot just 30-of-106 from the field. Of course, Syracuse had an especially hard time, finishing at 25.9 percent, including a 6-of-27 mark from three-point range.

Rodney Purvis was a rare bright spot, notching 21 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies. Josh Newman of the Associated Press described the senior's play:

Jalen Adams, who has become the only consistent offensive threat on an injury-riddled Huskies squad, finished with 16 points, while the rest of the team managed 15 in total.

DaJuan Coleman was the best player on the floor for Syracuse, totaling 10 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. White added 14 points, but that came on 4-of-14 shooting. Tyler Lydon went 1-of-8 from the field.

The poor shooting was a problem out of the gate. Zone defense on both sides led to a lot of outside shots—and a lot of misses—as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress described:

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports summed up the feeling from the game:

Syracuse shot just 1-of-13 from three-point range in the first half, including 11 misses in a row. Connecticut wasn't much better at 2-of-12 from deep, while Purvis had seven points on 1-of-6 shooting.

The poor shooting on both sides led to just a 23-21 score at halftime in favor of the Orange.

The offense didn't improve much in the second half, although Syracuse had an easier time finding buckets early on to build a 31-24 lead five minutes into the second period.

Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com described one of the rare bright spots in the game to that point:

The Orange built an 11-point lead thanks to strong offensive play by White, but UConn was able to remain in the game thanks to Purvis' consistent shot-making. Every time it appeared as though the deficit was insurmountable, the senior was there to keep it close.

Down 44-35, Connecticut went on a 14-0 run to take the lead with just over six minutes remaining.

Syracuse didn't help its cause by going six minutes without a point. Donna Ditota of the Post-Standard broke down one of the issues:

Amida Brimah made some big plays for UConn during that stretch, blocking and altering almost every shot in the lane.

Coleman finally ended the drought with a jump shot, but he wasn't getting any help from his teammates, per Mike Waters of Syracuse.com:

Although the Orange were able to tie the game, the extended drought was to blame for the loss.

Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com provided his thoughts on the finish:

This was UConn's best win of the season after a disappointing 3-4 start. The Huskies will hope they can keep the momentum going with an upcoming road game against Ohio State on Saturday.

Syracuse has fallen to 5-3 with losses in three of its last four games. The team will hope to get back on track against Boston on Saturday before taking on another former conference rival, Georgetown, on Dec. 17.

Postgame Reaction

Unsurprisingly, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was upset at his team's offense after the game.

"Our offense is not good enough," he said, per Carlson. "It's not good enough to win. We're just not scoring points."

Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie had similar thoughts, but praised the work on the other end of the floor.

"It wasn't the most beautiful game on an offensive standpoint," Ollie said, per Carlson. "I thought the defense was great."

The defense certainly made a difference in this game and helped the Huskies pull out the surprising win.

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