MAUI, Hawaii – Foul trouble plagued the UConn men’s basketball team as it dropped its second-consecutive game in the Maui Invitational, 73-72, to Colorado on Tuesday.

Ironically, there was a late offensive rebound that swung the game against the Huskies in crunch time for the second game in a row. Colorado freshman Trevor Baskin pulled the arm of Liam McNeeley to grab the offensive board, which set up the eventual game-winning layup for Andrej Jakimovski with eight seconds to go. Hassan Diarra, who entered the starting lineup for the first time this season, had the ball in his hands for the final shot and was off the mark on a mid-range attempt, which hit out of bounds as the final buzzer sounded.

The Buffaloes (5-1) rushed to celebrate on the court and the Huskies were left stunned for the second day in a row. It is the program’s first time suffering consecutive losses since January, 2023.

“Obviously we didn’t expect to find ourselves in this position out here because of where we’ve been, but this is where we are,” coach Dan Hurley said. “I just think we’re all shocked, we’re all stunned. With the run that we’ve been on and how well we’ve played, the games are playing out way differently for us and we’ve got to be incredibly strong mentally right now and keep investing in the group … We really needed to be able to gut out these last two games here as we’re trying to find ourselves. It’s definitely knocked us on our ass.”

UConn was forced to finish the game without both centers, Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr., who each fouled out before the final two minutes.

Hurley earned a technical foul when an over-the-back foul was called against McNeeley, leading to Monday’s loss to Memphis. After the no-call on Tuesday with the roles reversed, associate head coach Kimani Young rushed off the bench to keep him away from the referees.

“It has a big impact, obviously, on the game. If it’s called an over-the-back, we go to the free throw line at that point and maybe we’re shooting a one-and-one, I don’t even know what the foul situation was at the time,” Hurley said. “It just speaks to how these last two days have gone for us that yesterday, the biggest play of the game was an over-the-back that was called against us and then today it was more egregious – Baskin pulled Liam’s arm down, I saw the replay of it. It’s ironic, but that’s not why – our defense has just been so dreadful out here.”

UConn committed 22 team fouls and sent Colorado to the free throw line for 28 attempts. Not a great 3-point shooting team to start the season, the Buffaloes took advantage of open opportunities and made 9 of 16 from beyond the arc on Tuesday.

The loss drops UConn’s record to 4-2 on the season, leaving the Huskies to conclude the Maui Invitational at midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday.

“It was definitely a collective effort,” said Solo Ball, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half. “Defensively we weren’t there. We were in the right spots, and they got a lot of open shots that we couldn’t prevent. I think just focused on the defensive end, that’s the big goal for us the rest of the season.”

Making his first start of the season in place of Aidan Mahaney, Diarra got the game going with an alley-oop to Samson Johnson – a shot the Huskies have struggled to get through their first five games. The veteran point guard was active on both ends, but picked up two fouls in the game’s first four minutes and sat for the remainder of the half.

McNeeley, who started slow but sparked the late comeback to force overtime against Memphis on Monday, started 3 for 3 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers – and drew a charge – as UConn built its lead to as many as 11 points in the first half. He went to the locker room with a hip injury during the second half, but returned and finished the game with a career-high 20 points.

With Diarra, Karaban and Reed on the bench, each with two early fouls, Hurley sent in true freshman Ahmad Nowell, who didn’t play at all in Monday’s overtime loss.

Boos rained down from the UConn fan section after a blocking foul called on McNeeley – UConn’s ninth team foul of the game. Minutes later, the cheers were just as loud as Nowell found McNeeley for another 3, then Jaylin Stewart for a long 2 to grow the lead to nine.

Nowell had a team-best four assists in the first half.

“The first half I liked. Ahmad in the second half, he showed his inexperience, but he plays with some physicality out there. I think he’s going to be a good player. I think we have to play him,” Hurley said. “Listen, we could not afford Hassan and Alex to be in foul trouble in the first half. They put us in a very compromised position by sitting that whole first half. I was really impressed with how we played considering that first half, and at halftime I felt like we were going to do what we do at UConn, which was get it to double figures and then surge in that game. It just didn’t happen for us. But it’s early, and we’re going to have a lot of chances to get these ones that we’ve given away, we’re going to get a lot of chances to get these back.”

UConn took a 40-32 into halftime as it shot 56.2% from the field and 8 of 16 from beyond the arc. The Huskies allowed Colorado to stay in the game with their 14 team fouls, allowing the Buffaloes to shoot 12 for 19 from the free throw line.

Colorado made six of its first seven shots after the break and took a 48-46 lead with 14 minutes to go as Karaban (six points, 1 for 8 from the field) struggled to find his shot. Diarra scored UConn’s first eight points of the second half and found Johnson for a pair of dunks to regain the lead. But Johnson picked up his fourth foul on a made layup – which led to “T him up” chants at Hurley – shortly after. He fouled out with 4:40 left in the game.

The Buffaloes entered the game averaging just 7.8 made 3-pointers, 186th in the nation, through their first five contests. They made eight of their first 12 on Tuesday, 4 for 5 to start the second half, and jumped ahead with nine minutes to go.

Meanwhile, McNeeley spent time on the bench with trainer James Doran as he dealt with a hip injury he suffered early in the second half. His presence was missed as UConn shot just 3 for its first 9 after the break, but he came back from the locker room and went straight into the game, which was tied at 59 with less than eight minutes to go.

Ball, who sent Monday’s game into overtime with a clutch 3-pointer, helped the Huskies get some breathing room with his fourth 3-pointer on five attempts and a tough layup through contact – five straight points to give UConn a 70-65 lead with 3:28 to go.

Reed fouled out around the two-minute mark, causing UConn to go with a small lineup as Colorado made it a one-point game.The Buffaloes took advantage of the mismatch inside and used a pair of layups to take a one-point lead with five seconds to go. The ball was in Diarra’s hands for the final shot, which was off the mark.

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