Saturday was Senior Day for UConn men’s basketball, but it might as well have been billed as “Senior Day, starring Alex Karaban.”

One of five seniors honored before the Big East conference game against Seton Hall, Karaban led the No. 6 Huskies with 23 points as UConn came from behind to defeat the Pirates 71-67.

Karaban had tears in his eyes pregame when UConn unveiled, unexpectedly, the senior’s No. 11 in the Huskies of Honor with his parents and siblings by his side. He became the first active player to have his or her name and number hang in the rafters at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., surrounded by the numbers of the greats to come through UConn.

The two-time national champion showed why he earned the honor in the final 8:45 of the game.

The Pirates took a 33-32 lead at halftime, a back-and-forth 20 minutes in which Karaban scored 15 points.

And Seton Hall (19-10, 9-9) stayed ahead most of the second half, allowing UConn (27-3, 17-2) to take a one-point lead with just under 15 minutes remaining on a Jayden Ross layup that made the score 43-42.

But the Pirates rolled off a 15- 6 run to take an eight-point lead.

Enter Karaban.

He played all 40 minutes of the game but was denied the ball by Seton Hall in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

But in a span of 74 seconds, Karaban drained two three-pointers – the second one from the parking lot, it seemed. After a rebound by Tarris Reed Jr. on a Tajuan Simpkins miss, Braylon Mullins hit a 3-pointer on a fast break to give UConn a 58-56 lead.

With 3:44 left and the score tied at 58, UConn went up by a point on a Solo Ball free throw, then the Pirates retook the lead on a 3-pointer by Elijah Fisher.

With 1:38 left, UConn recaptured a one-point lead on a Reed layup, and from there, the game became a contest of free throws.

A.J. Staton-McCray hit two to put Seton Hall up 65-64, and then the Huskies closed the game on a 7-2 run. Solo Ball hit five foul shots and Karaban two to seal the win.

After the game, the crowd and his teammates coaxed Karaban onto the court as he raised his jersey to his face to dab his tears. He thanked the fans for their support over the years, then led them in one final “UConn” chant.

Head coach Dan Hurley, as tough as they come, even shed some tears during the festivities.

"I just lost it right there,” Hurley said of the moment he saw Karaban, his team captain, cry.

"He's one of the greatest players to put the uniform on,” Hurley added.

Karaban is the winningest player and has made the most starts in UConn history. He moved into the top 10 on the all-time scoring list on Saturday.

After the Huskies demolished No. 15 St. John’s 72-40 on Wednesday night, Hurley had to wonder about the hangover his team could have from such a historic and emotional win.

Only Karaban was hot from the field, making 8 of 11 shots, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Solo Ball (14 points), Mullins (11) and Reed (10) also hit double figures but were 8-of-24 shooting.

Reed led the Huskies with 11 rebounds and Silas Demary Jr. had nine assists.

For the Pirates, Staton McCray scored 20 points, Najai Hines contributed 11 rebounds and Adam Clark added eight assists.

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