Christian Vital watched his last shot, and UConn’s, rattle off the iron and he sat helplessly on the XL Center floor as time ran out. He banged the hardwood several times with both fists, then rolled back and screamed straight up to the rafters.
“It was just tough,” Vital said, after UConn’s 89-86 double-overtime loss to Wichita State in American Athletic Conference men’s basketball. “We fought. We fought for that. Some moments didn’t go our way, when we thought it would or should’ve gone our way, but it was just tough because we knew we fought for that. We didn’t just let them come in here and think they were going to bully us. It was tough to end that game and not be on the winning side.”
This Sunday afternoon at the XL Center had all the trappings of old, so perhaps it was fitting that Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall slipped and referred to it as “the Hartford Civic Center.” Big crowd, 13,281, big-time opponent, the 23rd-ranked Shockers, and the big UConn effort.
By sheer effort, the Huskies came back from 12 points down — from nine points back over the last 1:05 of regulation — to tie the score on Sid Wilson’s 3-pointer, forcing overtime. UConn had the lead for fleeting moments in overtime, but a possession call late in the first OT, in which Vital appeared to save it inbounds, went against the Huskies and was deemed not reviewable and, while they left their hearts on the floor, the Huskies also left too many points at the line — missing 13 of 42 free throws, including the front ends of a few one-and-ones along the way.
“This was the type of performance,” coach Dan Hurley said, “getting to our identity of toughness, defensive toughness, game toughness, that you rebuild championship-level programs with. And when all the other stuff catches up, you find yourself back toward the top of the mountain. There are no moral victories at UConn ever, but I was very proud of the guys and the way that they just battled.”
Wichita State (15-1, 3-0 AAC) are at that level now, with eight consecutive road wins, and shot 53.6 percent in the first half — making tough, contested shots — building their 12-point lead with 12:30 to go. But the Huskies, playing after learning junior Tyler Polley, their best 3-point shooter, was lost for the season with a knee injury, kept up the defensive pressure and finally cooled the Shockers off to 32.4 percent in the second half.
“I think we have our identity,” Vital said. “I think we know what it is, and we’re going to ride with it for the rest of the season. We’re going to keep waking up every day, and we’re going, to keep fighting.”
Vital scored 25, Josh Carlton had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Alterique Gilbert scored 14, but had five turnovers. Wilson had fallen out of the rotation, sitting nearly all of the last five games, but came in to give UConn a spark, scoring 14, with four rebounds and two blocks, making impact plays at both ends. After UConn forced a shot-clock violation to gain possession with 10.3 seconds left, Wilson was open to receive Gilbert’s kick-out pass to the left corner, and he made the shot.
“I had no time to think about it,” Wilson said. “As soon as I caught it, I made sure I was behind the 3-point line, and I shot it.”
Carlton was 7-for-13 at the line, missing 2 of 4 in the first OT that cost the Huskies a chance to put it away. Gilbert missed two in the second OT, but the Huskies still played for one last chance.
“I assume everyone came here to be entertained by a college basketball game,” Marshall said, “and that’s about as good as it gets. That was a hard-fought, gutsy performance by both teams, a bunch of kids. Nobody deserved to lose that game. … Both teams just fought like crazy and left it all out there in the Hartford Civic Center today.”
Freshman James Bouknight, who started in Polley’s place, was playing with four fouls, but scored eight of his 16 points in overtime. “He’s going to be unleashed here,” Hurley said, “and he’s going to keep getting better.”
Jaime Echenique scored 19, and Erik Stevenson and Dexter Dennis had 16 each for the Shockers, who made their important free throws, 19-for-24.
Hurley has anticipated his second season at UConn would be “filled with excruciating losses,” and now there have been three, to Xavier in two overtimes, to Indiana and this one. “We’re not satisfied with this at all,” Wilson said, “but we know if we do lose, this is what it’s supposed to look like.”
The Huskies (10-6, 1-3) also had poor performances at Cincinnati and South Florida, double-digit defeats, to start conference play. After Vital finally lifted himself up from the beer-splattered floor Sunday, he exchanged hugs with teammates, and with Hurley.
“Year two of a rebuild, you’re either winning games or losing in excruciating fashion,” Hurley said, “not embarrassing fashion. My message to the older guys: I don’t know how many games we’re going to win or where we are going to be in March, but if you show up with that type of leadership … the way C.V. represented himself out there on the court, his toughness, communication with the bench, his teammates, you can come back when you’re 35 to Madison Square Garden for a Big East championship game with your children and be proud of being on the first team that started to turn it after three straight losing seasons.”
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.
