NEW YORK (AP) – Liam McNeeley scored 26 points for No. 18 UConn, which fended off a series of turnovers from No. 8 Gonzaga to secure a 77-71 victory in a Hall of Fame Series match at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Tarris Reed Jr. scored 12 points and Jaylin Stewart added 10 for two-time defending champion UConn (8-3) as head coach Dan HurleyThe 300th victory.

Khalif battle had 21 points, Ryan Nembhard finished with 16 points and Michael Ajayi added 14 points for Gonzaga (7-3), which fell to 2-6 all-time against UConn.

UConn opened the game with a 13-2 run and led 43-40 at halftime. Gonzaga tied the game at 55-5 with back-to-back three-pointers from Battle and Nembhard before the Huskies scored the next 10 points.

The Bulldogs got within 73-70 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Ajayi with 3:25 left, but Nembhard missed a potential game-winning three-pointer earlier Alex Karaban hit a layup as the shot clock expired with a minute left.

Takeaways

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs, who fell to the then-No. 4 Kentucky 90-89 in overtime on Dec. 7, the first time since Dec. 9-15. December 2018 lost two games in a row.

UConn: Samson Johnson was eliminated with 11:09 left in the first half after he hit the floor hard while trying to block a layup from Battle.

Key moment

Stewart scored five straight points after a UConn timeout, starting the Huskies’ decisive 10-0 run.

Key statistics

Gonzaga shot 35.5 percent in the second half as the Bulldogs missed six layups or short jumpers from close range.

Next

UConn opens Big East play on Wednesday by hosting Xavier in Hartford. Gonzaga also returns home on Wednesday when the Bulldogs play Nicholls State.