HOUSTON _ The Huskies have been talking throughout the season about what they can do, if ...
If they played a full 40 minutes, if they shot the ball better, if they rebounded. It's all reflected in an iffy record.
More of those question marks have gone their way of late, but the Huskies finished the regular season with another what-if game.
UConn came back from a double-digit deficit, led much of the second half and slugged it out, toe-to-toe, with 25th-ranked Houston, but didn't have the finishing touch and lost, 81-71, at the H&PE Arena on Sunday.
"It came down to a five-minute game," coach Kevin Ollie said, "and that's what we wanted to put ourselves in, but we didn't execute."
Rob Gray, the Cougar's top player, scored 30 points, winning an individual duel with the Huskies' Jalen Adams, who had 22 points and six assists. Adams owned the middle 20 minutes of the game, but Gray, honored in Senior Day ceremonies before the game, delivered the first punch _ and had the last word.
Gray tied the game at 63 with a jumper with 5:43 left, and scored Houston's next nine points.
"We slacked off defensively a little bit," UConn's Terry Larrier said. "Rob Gray, we kept letting him go right, he was going right the whole night and he kind of got into a rhythm. And when a guy like that gets into a rhythm, it's kind of hard to stop him."
The Cougars (24-6, 14-4 in the American Athletic Conference) are heading to the NCAA Tournament no matter what they do in the conference tournament.
UConn (14-17, 7-11) will go in as the eighth seed and need four wins in four days, and at least one major upset, to salvage its season.
"We've got to go to the conference tournament with a clear mind," Adams said, "and just start over."
The Huskies, who outscored Houston 29-15 to finish the first half, and led by five with under 10 minutes to go. Adams' legs began cramping up and he came out for some rehydration, but was limping when he went back in. UConn ultimately wore down and left the game, of all places, at the free throw line, which has generally been a strength. UConn went 16 for 24 from the line, and though Houston missed nine of 34 from the line, the Huskies misses hurt more, especially down the stretch.
Larrier had 19 points and seven rebounds and Christian Vital had 11 points before fouling out, as UConn shot 52 percent from the floor. Corey Davis Jr. added 17 for Houston, but it was Gray who was unstoppable as the Cougars poured it on. UConn had an edge in rebounding until the final minutes, when Houston dominated the boards.
"They just were the hungriest team," Ollie said, "they were hungry for the basketball. When they shot it, they went to go get it."
The game started the way most anticipated, with Houston, undefeated at home, controlling the tempo and hitting shots from inside and out, taking control with a 13-2 run. Gray scored eight points in the first eight minutes. When Nura Zanna hit two from the line, Houston had a 22-9 lead with 12:57 to go in the half.
But UConn stuck to its plans on offense and defense, and wrestled its way back into the game. Larrier got the comeback started with at 3-pointer, Adams, quiet to that point, scored from the line, then took over the game. He got to the rim and scored with 8:32 left to pull the Huskies within five, and made a great pass to Josh Carlton on a broken fast break to cut Houston's lead to 35-33.
Adams hit a jumper with 1:13 left, and a 3-pointer with 31 seconds to go to send UConn into the half with a 38-37 lead. He had 12 points and five assists, the Huskies shooting 55.2 percent from the floor.
"Then we stopped sharing the basketball," Ollie said. "We had eight assists at halftime and then we had two (in the second half.) We reverted back to one-on-one basketball. And I told the guys, 'we're a good team, we showed a lot of grit, but you can't do it by yourself.' "
