Hartford — UConn self-destructed with the game on the line on Thursday.

The dirty laundry list is a long one after a 73-71 loss to Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference game before 10,656 fans at the XL Center.

Defensive breakdowns.

Poor shot selection.

Bad decision-making.

Giving up a crucial offensive rebound off a missed free throw.

All of the above happened in the crucial final minutes.

"Just the little things cost us the game," freshman Tyler Polley said. "We did the big things right."

The Huskies (12-14, 5-8) lost despite leading by as many as 12 points, outrebounding an opponent for the first time in nine games (35-30), dishing out 17 assists — one shy of tying their season high — and scoring a season-high 40 points in the first half. It was their biggest lead in a loss this season.

"We played an incredible first half, sharing the ball," coach Kevin Ollie said. "Then the second half, our defense let us down. You have to finish games. Even with the poor defense and blow-bys, we still had a one possession game. And we gave up an offensive rebound on the free throw. And then we give up a long pass for a layup.

"Those are the different things that we've got to correct ... Very disappointed in our defensive effort. We've just got to get better."

UConn sophomore Christian Vital had a team-high 20 points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds while freshman Josh Carlton added 12 points and five rebounds. But leading scorer Jalen Adams struggled, sinking just four of 14 field goal attempts and finishing with eight points, none in the last 11:39. He also added a season-high 11 assists.

Adams misfired on two big shots in the last 18 seconds. First, his medium range jumper just grazed the rim with UConn trailing 70-69.

"He's made that shot a lot of times," Ollie said. "Some of the threes he took, I didn't like them because we were in the (free throw) penalty."

After Tulsa's DaQuan Jeffries (14 points) got behind the defense to score off a long inbounds pass for a 72-69 lead, UConn freshman Isaiah Whaley scored inside to close the gap to one with 8.2 seconds remaining.

The Huskies still had life when Corey Henderson, Jr, missed the front end of a 1-and-1. But teammate Junior Etou secured the rebound and got fouled. Etou made just one of two from the line.

With timing running down, Adams raced down court and ran into traffic in the lane, throwing up a wild shot that never had a chance as the clock ran out.

It was another blown opportunity for the Huskies, who scored eight straight points — six on two Terry Larrier 3-pointers, his first field goals of the game — to storm back from a seven-point deficit to tie the score at 68-all with 54 seconds remaining.

"We definitely struggle to win tight games," Vital said. "That's why our record is what it is."

Vital's former St. Thomas More teammate, Sterling Taplin, did some major damage for Tulsa, scoring a career-high 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting, including seven-for-eight from three.

Taplin scored the go-ahead basket, leaving Vital in the dust on a driving layup that put Tulsa (15-10, 8-5) on top 70-69 with 39 seconds left.

"Tap is a good player," Vital said. "We have history going to St. Thomas More together, but I can't allow my match-up to go for 30 in our house."

The Golden Hurricane shot a sizzling 55.3 percent overall, including 69.6 percent (16-for-23) in the second half. They made 12 of their first 14 shots after intermission.

The defensively-challenged Huskies did nothing to slow Tulsa down.

Offensively, they settled for far too many 3-pointers. They made 8-for-19 in the first half, but just 3-of-12 in the second half. They converted 40.3 percent from the field overall and lost for the seventh time in nine games.

News and notes

• Reserve forward Eric Cobb played his first game since being suspended following a win over East Carolina on Jan. 6. He didn't take a shot or record a rebound in four minutes. ... The Huskies lost for the first time this season after leading at halftime. They had been 9-0. ... Freshman Tyler Polley chipped in a career-high tying nine points off the bench. ... Sophomore Kwintin Williams had one rebound in four minutes after enjoying his best game of the season against Wichita State on Saturday.

g.keefe@theday.com