NEWARK, N.J. – Kemba Walker scored 19 points and No. 6 Connecticut stopped a two-game losing streak with a 61-59 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday night after trailing by 10 points with 8:17 to play.
Walker, the Big East's leading scorer who has struggled recently, hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 to play that capped a 12-1 run and gave the Huskies (18-4, 6-4) their first lead of the second half.
Freshman Roscoe Smith made two free throws for Connecticut with 19 seconds left for a three-point lead, and after Alex Oriakhi blocked Jeremy Hazell's 3-point attempt, Oriakhi added one of two free throws with 3.7 seconds left when he was intentionally fouled by Herb Pope.
Connecticut retained possession but the ball was thrown away and Fuquan Edwin laid it in at the buzzer for the Pirates (10-14, 4-8), their only field goal of the final 8 minutes.
Jeremy Lamb had 10 points for the Huskies, who lost home games to No. 15 Louisville and No. 17 Syracuse and appeared to be on the way to their third straight loss until Seton Hall went cold at the end of this one.
Hazell had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Pirates, while Jeff Robinson had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Seton Hall finished with a 42-33 rebound advantage.
Walker, who came in averaging 23.4 points, had another tough shooting game, going 7 for 19. In the last three games, he was shooting just 28.3 percent, including 3 of 21 from 3-point range. He made three of five 3-point attempts against the Pirates, the biggest when he gave the Huskies the lead for good.
The rest of the Huskies were 0 of 5 on 3s.
Hazell was 7 of 22 from the field, including 3 of 10 on 3s. The Pirates missed nine straight shots from Robinson's rebound that made it 56-46 until Edwin's layup at the buzzer.
Seton Hall led 32-27 at halftime and the Pirates opened the second half with a 7-2 run for their first double-digit lead of the game.
Connecticut's offensive woes got worse in the opening minutes of the second half. The Huskies managed six points in the first 7 minutes and the Pirates took advantage to go ahead 50-36 on a move down low by Hazell.