Houston 75, No. 15 Connecticut 71: TaShawn Thomas hit the go-ahead free throws with 9.2 seconds left to cap a 23-point effort and blocked Shabazz Napier’s tying attempt as the host Cougars stunned the Huskies in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Jherrod Stiggers scored 17 points and Danrad Knowles added 13 points and nine rebounds for Houston (9-5). Thomas snapped a tie at 71 with two free throws and Napier followed by driving through the lane before Thomas elevated to reject the shot and Tione Womack sealed the upset by making two free throws with 2.3 seconds to go.

Napier matched his season high with 27 points and also had nine rebounds and five assists for the Huskies (11-2), who trailed by 21 late in the first half before rallying. Ryan Boatright scored a season-high 19 points and DeAndre Daniels added 12.

UConn began the second half with a 21-3 surge and tied the score at 49 on a dunk by Niels Giffey. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Daniels and Napier gave the Huskies their first lead of the night at 67-64 with 3:34 to play but Houston tied the game at 71 on Stiggers’ 3-pointer prior to the decisive sequence.

The Cougars opened the game with a 14-4 spurt and the lead reached 31-14 on a 3-pointer by Stiggers with 7:44 left in the half. Houston stretched the lead to 45-24 late in the half before taking a 46-28 advantage into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thomas also had eight rebounds and topped 20 points for the fourth time this season. … UConn was just 8-of-26 shooting in the first half while digging a hole and finished at 41.1 percent. … Houston was without second-leading scorer Danuel House (knee) for the seventh straight game and third-leading scorer L.J. Rose (foot) for the third consecutive outing.