Although it looked like their upset bid wouldn’t succeed after some heroics from Solo Ball at the end of regulation, Tyrese Hunter and Memphis picked up a huge win to kick off the Maui Invitational on Monday morning.

Hunter and the Tigers stunned No. 2 UConn 99-97 Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui to open the iconic Feast Week tournament – ​​which returned to Maui this week for the first time since deadly fires broke out on the island in 2023. pushed the Tigers to a perfect 5-0 this season and advanced them to the semifinals, where they will face either Colorado or Michigan State on Tuesday.

The Huskies, who are coming off back-to-back national championships, have now lost their first game since Feb. 20. This ended a 17-game winning streak.

It looked like Memphis would pull out the win in regulation after going up by 13 points late in the second half. The Tigers had all the momentum and UConn – despite going into halftime up 40-40 – looked dead in the water. But suddenly the Huskies rattled off an 18-5 run to end the second half. Ball capped that crack with a perfect three-pointer from the wing with just over a second left, sending the game to overtime.

UConn took advantage of that momentum and made an early jump in overtime. Memphis didn’t go away, however, and the Tigers took full advantage of a mistake by UConn head coach Dan Hurley. Memphis tied the game on a 3-pointer by Colby Rogers, then Tigers guard PJ Carter hit four consecutive free throws just a few seconds later after Liam McNeeley was called for an over-the-back foul at the other end. That mistake put Hurley on edge and earned him a technical foul, resulting in a seven-point swing.

This was the violation in question:

That was enough to keep Memphis ahead the rest of the way. Carter had all nine points in overtime, thanks to a three-pointer before the technical and two free throws afterward, to keep the Tigers in the lead and ultimately give them the victory. UConn took one last look at the buzzer but couldn’t get it dropped a second time. While Hurley’s technical foul didn’t directly cause the loss, it undoubtedly opened the door for the Tigers at the worst possible time.

Hurley doesn’t think his technique cost the Huskies the game. Instead, he thought, “It was the damn phone calls.”

Hunter finished with 26 points on seven three-pointers for the Tigers in the win. PJ Haggerty added 22 points and five assists, and Rogers finished with 19 points. As a team, they shot almost 55% both from the field and behind the arc.

Tarris Reed led UConn with 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in the loss. Alex Karaban finished with 19 points and McNeeley had 10 points and four rebounds. The Huskies, who entered the week as the favorites in the event, will now face the loser of Colorado-Michigan State on the consolation side of the game on Tuesday.

UConn was by far the favorite in its half of the competition, which now paves the way for coach Penny Hardaway and the Tigers to reach the title game on Wednesday. No. However, No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 North Carolina are all on the other side of the bracket, so a championship in Hawaii before Thanksgiving won’t be easy by any means.

But no matter what happens in the coming days, Memphis now has a big win under its belt. For a team that lost eight of its last 15 games last season and missed the NCAA tournament, a win over a top-five team in the early days of the season is a huge accomplishment.