Primetime Performance: Dan Hurley on No. 3 UConn Holding Off No. 7 BYU

College basketball fans were treated to a thriller yesterday, as No. 3 UConn held off a late rally by No. 7 BYU to seal a narrow 86-84 victory in Boston on Saturday night.

Huskies coach Dan Hurley discussed his team's primetime win, which was the 320th of his career, after the buzzer.

"I thought we played great," he said. "Obviously, I credit BYU. They fought their tail off. … We obviously did a good job at kind of hanging on, but to be up 20 [points] and to [have BYU] cut it to four or three — little scary."

UConn led by as many as 20 points, 59-39, with 14:56 to play in the game. It was leading 82-77 when highly touted BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa — a potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — dropped in a layup with under a minute to go. Two free throws by Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. made it 84-79, but a 3-pointer by Cougars guard Dawson Baker cut the margin to two.

UConn guard Malachi Smith was fouled and hit one of two throws. The Cougars had a chance to tie the game, but Demary knocked the ball away from Wright. UConn guard Solo Ball then made a free throw to push the lead back to four with 18 seconds left. 

"I think when we're healthy and we get all of our stuff together, I think this group is gonna have a chance to compete for the things we want to at UConn," Hurley said. "It'd be nice to get [guard Braylon] Mullins back. Braylon, I think, has got a chance to get back maybe for the weekend, so I think getting that extra firepower [would help].

"We were in some foul trouble in the second half, that hurt us a little bit, but I think we got a lot of answers. … These are the games where you really learn and are tested."

Demary scored 21 points and finished with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.