HARTFORD, Conn. (Interstat) — In a clash of contrasting styles and execution, the Connecticut Huskies used a dominant first-half performance to build a commanding lead and then withstood a gritty second-half push from the Texas Longhorns to secure a 71-63 victory in a non-conference men’s basketball game Friday night before a sellout crowd of 15,495 at the XL Center.

The game turned decisively in the opening period, where Connecticut’s offensive efficiency and interior presence overwhelmed Texas. The Huskies shot a blistering 54.5% from the field in the first half, connecting on 18 of 33 attempts, while the Longhorns managed just 34.5% shooting. This disparity fueled a 43-34 halftime advantage for the home team, a margin that proved insurmountable for Texas despite a more competitive final 20 minutes.

Connecticut’s offensive engine was powered by the inside-out combination of center Tarris Reed and forward Alex Karaban. Reed, a 6-foot-10, 265-pound junior from St. Louis, was a force on both ends, finishing with 12 points, five assists and four blocked shots in 29 minutes. His passing from the post was instrumental, setting up several key baskets. Karaban, a senior from Southborough, Massachusetts, led all scorers with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including two three-pointers, and added two assists.

The Huskies’ ball movement and paint dominance were the story of the first half. They assisted on 11 of their 18 first-half field goals and outscored Texas 26-12 in the paint before the break. A 9-0 run midway through the half, capped by a Braylon Mullins three-pointer off a Karaban assist, stretched an early lead to 20-11. Connecticut maintained control throughout, answering every Texas basket. Even when the Longhorns cut the deficit to single digits late in the half, the Huskies responded, with Karaban sinking a layup in the final seconds off a feed from Malachi Smith to take the nine-point lead into the locker room.

Texas, which fell to 7-4 with the loss, showed renewed defensive intensity after halftime. The Longhorns forced eight second-half turnovers and held Connecticut to 10-of-30 shooting from the field. Tramon Mark, a senior guard from Dickinson, Texas, led the Longhorns with 15 points, while Jordan Pope, from Oakley, California, also added 15. A driving layup by Pope with 1:57 remaining brought Texas within six points at 67-61, marking the closest the game had been since the opening minutes.

That surge, however, was immediately extinguished by Connecticut’s veterans. On the ensuing possession, Karaban drilled a critical three-pointer from the wing, assisted by Smith, to push the lead back to nine with 1:43 left. Texas would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way, as the Huskies closed the game at the free-throw line.

Smith, a senior guard from the Bronx, orchestrated the Connecticut offense with precision, dishing out nine assists against only two turnovers in 21 minutes of action. Mullins, a freshman from Greenfield, Indiana, provided a key scoring spark off the bench with 10 points. For Texas, Simeon Wilcher contributed nine points and a block, and 7-foot freshman Matas Vokietaitis added nine points.

The statistical ledger underscored Connecticut’s controlled victory. The Huskies finished the game shooting 54.7% from the field compared to Texas’s 37.7%. While both teams committed 12 turnovers, Connecticut converted them into 16 points, while Texas managed 12 points off turnovers. The Huskies also won the battle in the paint, 38-24, and out-blocked the Longhorns 5-2, with Reed accounting for four of those rejections.

Connecticut, which improved to 10-1, now looks ahead to its Big East Conference opener. The Huskies will host Butler on Tuesday. Texas, which has lost two of its last three games, returns home to face Le Moyne on Tuesday before a challenging stretch of Southeastern Conference play begins in January. The Longhorns’ early-season schedule has been among the nation’s toughest, featuring games against Duke, Arizona State, Virginia and now Connecticut.