Adama Sanogo scored a career-high 30 points to fuel No. 22 UConn to a 115-109 double-overtime victory over No. 19 Auburn on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Sanogo scored his team’s first 10 points in the first half and seven of its first nine to begin the second. His total points eclipsed his previous high of 20, set in the Huskies’ 99-48 win over Central Connecticut State on Nov. 9 and matched four days later in an 89-54 victory over Coppin State.
Tyler Polley (24 points) sank two of his six 3-pointers in the second overtime and Sanogo added a trio of layups to push the Huskies’ lead to 109-100 with 1:01 to play. Auburn trimmed its deficit to four before UConn sealed the win at the free-throw line.
R.J. Cole made five 3-pointers to highlight his 24-point performance and Jordan Hawkins added 16 off the bench for the Huskies (5-0), who will face Michigan State in the semifinals on Thursday. The Spartans posted a 63-61 victory over Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday afternoon.
UConn shot a robust 57.7 percent from 3-point range (15 of 26) to help it overcome 24 turnovers.
K.D. Johnson sank a pair of free throws to cut UConn’s lead to 95-93 in the first overtime. He then took advantage of a Hawkins turnover by making a layup at the other end to tie the game with 3.4 seconds to play.
Johnson finished with 27 points and Jabari Smith added 22 for the Tigers (3-1), who face the Ramblers in the consolation round on Thursday.
UConn held a 15-point lead with 11 minutes remaining in the second half before Auburn slowly chipped away. The Tigers scored 26 of the game’s next 35 points, with Jabari Smith’s 3-pointer giving his team a 76-74 advantage.
Tyrese Martin made a layup and jumper to pull the Huskies within one on consecutive possessions before Johnson’s free throw gave Auburn an 81-79 lead with 33 seconds to play.
Cole split a pair of free throws before Polley calmly sank a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining, but Johnson converted a layup with five seconds left to force overtime.
–Field Level Media
