UConn veterans Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra took matters into their own hands down the stretch as Butler refused to go away in a Big East battle Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.

The Huskies never trailed in the 78-74 win, though Butler battled back to tie the game with under five minutes to go. As the Bulldogs hung around in the final two and a half minutes, Karaban nailed a 3-pointer, Diarra flipped a floater over his head to beat the shot clock and Karaban hit again from beyond the arc, pushing UConn’s lead to five with 59 seconds to go. Free throws from Diarra and Liam McNeeley sealed the win.

“Something about this building,” Karaban told reporters in Indianapolis, thinking back to when he hit some big shots in a similar win at Butler last season. “It’s historical, everyone talks about (how) Hinkle Fieldhouse has a little magic in there. The magic was on our side today.”

UConn coach Dan Hurley referred to Karaban as “Captain America” as he finished with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, the team plus-18 when he was on the court. Diarra added 12 points with four rebounds and seven assists, and McNeeley again played beyond his years as he finished with 17 points (3 for 3 from beyond the arc), five rebounds and seven assists, the most he’s had this season.

Extending their winning streak to six games, Saturday’s victory gave the 11th-ranked Huskies a 2-0 start in Big East play and improved their mark to 10-3 on the year.

“It’s always a thrill to come to Hinkle, it’s always a thrill to play in Indiana. It’s like the holy land of basketball,” Hurley said. “I thought the game was very similar to last year’s game, where we had to just fight for our lives to get out of here with a Big East road win.”

UConn is now 10-0 in its all-time series against Butler, which began in the 2011 national championship game.

Back in the starting lineup after a concussion early in the Dec. 14 game against Gonzaga, center Samson Johnson was immediately involved, scoring or assisting on UConn’s first eight points. McNeeley and Karaban went back-to-back from beyond the arc as the Huskies commanded an early 14-2 lead with Butler missing its first six shot attempts.

Taking advantage when the Bulldogs went to a zone on the other end, McNeeley nailed his second triple and both Jayden Ross and Aidan Mahaney joined in on the action, pushing the lead to 25-9 with a 5-for-6 start from beyond the arc.

UConn cooled off after its 11-for-14 start from the field, making just one of its next seven shot attempts as Butler — switching back to man-to-man defense — clawed back with buckets inside and cut its deficit to six with under seven minutes to go in the first half.

The Butler comeback was accelerated by 7-footer Andre Screen, who tied his career high with four blocks in the game’s first 18 minutes. Screen was a problem for UConn defensively as well, scoring nine first-half points with five coming from the free-throw line as Johnson (six points, three rebounds, one block) picked up a pair of early fouls. Bulldogs leading scorer Jahmyl Telfort (seven points, six rebounds and seven assists) cut UConn’s lead to three with just over two minutes until the end of the half.

“Last year’s team, when we would get a game to 14, you’d blink and it would be 22. Last year we’d get the game to 11 and it would get to 18. This team, right now we don’t have that killer instinct yet and just our quality’s not quite there, yet,” Hurley said. “We’re going to improve a lot during the course of the year. ... We’re nowhere near where we’re going to be. But while we’re trying to figure ourselves out, we’ve just got to find a way to win games and execute and have poise down the stretch.”

But Diarra stepped back for a 3-pointer and McNeeley found Karaban for a three-point play in the paint, allowing UConn to take a 42-33 lead into halftime.

McNeeley tied his career-best assist mark right after the break, finding Diarra for a triple and then adding his own from the corner. After a steal from Karaban, the freshman found Solo Ball for a fast-break layup, which secured a 14-point lead — UConn’s largest in the second half.

“It helps us tremendously just to have someone like (McNeeley), just his maturity and his personality and just being a confident killer out there, especially as a freshman. It’s unbelievable and something you don’t see often,” Karaban said. “He’s been a big-time player for us this year and he will continue to be that player for us. He steps up in big-time moments.”

Butler refused to go away, using a 9-0 run to get back within five with 13 and a half minutes to go. UConn extended its lead back to 11, but the Bulldogs took advantage of a four-minute stretch with Karaban resting, bringing the score within two after an 11-2 run. Kolby King tied the game at 63 with a free throw at the 4:43 mark, but Diarra assisted McNeeley on a three-point play to answer, and picked up two more assists on big-time 3-pointers from Karaban.

Over the six-game winning streak, the fifth-year point guard has totaled 48 assists to just nine turnovers.

“He just makes plays all over the court, takes great care of the basketball for the most part, and he’s a great leader,” Hurley said. “He’s a guy with big-time guts and confidence. You look at him in the huddle as a teammate, and you believe you’re out there with General Hassan and that we’re gonna find a way to win.”

UConn will have 10 days between games for the holiday break before returning to action in a New Year’s Day matchup at DePaul.

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