No. 11 UConn holds off feisty Xavier in Big East opener

Tarris Reed Jr. had 20 points and 13 rebounds as No. 11 UConn opened Big East play with a 94-89 overtime victory against Xavier on Wednesday in Hartford, Conn.Reed, a transfer from Michigan, was 7 of 11 from the field and connected on each of his six free throw attempts.UConn (9-3) received 22 points from Solo Ball. Alex Karaban added 20 points for the Huskies, who have won five in a row since going 0-3 in the Maui Invitational.Xavier’s Ryan Conwall led all scorers with 23 points. The Musketeers (8-4, 0-1) also got 22 points from Dante Maddox Jr., who was 5 of 9 from 3-point territory. Xavier, which led 69-64 with 5:16 to play, made 13 of its 24 3-point attempts.Maddox made two free throws that tied the game, 78-78, with 9.4 seconds left in regulation, and the game went to overtime when Ball missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.Overtime saw UConn extend to a seven-point advantage with 1:41 to go on made free throws by Ball, who then did the same — make two free throws — to close the game out with 17 seconds left.