Hartford — Small victories are taking the place of bigger ones for the UConn basketball program.

In their current state, the Huskies can compete with but not beat top 10 ranked teams.

Another prime example: Thursday night against No. 9 Houston.

UConn played with the competitive spirit of a feisty underdog, never folding despite facing a 17-point second-half deficit. The Huskies trimmed the gap to six with just over two and a half minutes remaining before losing, 71-63, before 10,095 fans at the XL Center.

In the end, the talent deficit was just too much for the Huskies to overcome as was the absence of their starting backcourt, Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert, both sidelined with injuries. Other factors included UConn's poor foul shooting (14 for 25) as well as Houston's hot 3-point shooting (11-for-21) and a productive bench that outscored UConn 42-9.

While Hurley hates losing, he loves his team's spirit. The short-handed Huskies (13-12, 4-8), who've lost four of their last five, never gave in despite the long odds.

"When I'm staring at the ceiling at 4 a.m. thinking about all the lost possessions and lost chances, it's not going to mean much to me probably until we watch the coaches' tape together in the morning and we see some real valiant efforts by our guys and a toughness about them.

"... This doesn't resemble the UConn that everyone is used to seeing here in basketball. Small wins have to be the young guys developing, showing that they have a future here as a foundation and that the culture is changing and we're not laying down and accepting defeat and playing like losers and softies. We don't do that here."

The Huskies battled hard against the American Athletic Conference leaders. They trailed by just three (32-29) at halftime.

Then the physically tough and talented Cougars (24-1, 11-1), now winners of nine straight, seized control by going on a dominating 17-4 run to begin the second half. Their lead grew to 17 with 7:08 remaining.

"Digging ourselves a hole just didn't put ourselves in a good situation to start the half," said sophomore Josh Carlton, who had eight points and a team-best 10 rebounds.

The Huskies charged back, taking off on a 14-3 run. Sophomore Tyler Polley's two straight 3-pointers helped spark the spurt. Vital's 3-pointer cut the gap to 61-54.

Then something strange happened.

With the shot clocking winding down, Houston misfired on a rushed shot. UConn grabbed the rebound and started a fast break that stopped when official Gerry Polland blew his whistle, calling a shot clock violation. Trouble was, one second remained on the clock when the Huskies secured the rebound.

"Ref made a mistake, bad call," guard Tarin Smith said. "It was a change of possession. He probably thought the shot clock ran out. ... Tough break."

The Huskies kept possession and ended up with junior Christian Vital making one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 61-55 at the 2:28 mark.

From there, the Cougars played like the AAC leader down the stretch, finishing off the road victory.

"They're men," Hurley said. "They're just a well-rounded deep team. We made too many mistakes to beat a team that may have a chance to play in the Final Four.

Vital led the Huskies with 15 points while Sidney Wilson chipped in 12 points and Smith added 10 points and seven assists. Reserve DeJon Jarreau had a team-high 18 points for the Cougars.

"We played well as a team," Vital said. "We just weren't the better team for the full 40 minutes. Give Houston their credit."

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson believes UConn has a bright future.

"Connecticut's kids really really played hard," Sampson said. "He's got a lot of good young players. It's just a matter of time before Danny gets this thing going."

g.keefe@theday.com