“Smoking this UConn pack”: Fans go gaga as Memphis’ Tyrese Hunter channels his inner Stephen Curry vs Dan Hurley’s men

After making three triples in the first half, Tyrese Hunter singlehandedly kept Memphis Tigers in the game against Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies on Monday. The Tigers eventually won 99-97.

The two teams met for their first contest of the Maui Invitational Tournament in Hawaii. Hunter garnered 17 points in the second half as Penny Hardaway's crew led by 10-points (77-67) with less than three minutes in the game.

Hunter connected on 7-of-10 3-point attempts, garnering a game-high 26 points till the official TV timeout. With that, college basketball fans have been raving about the 6-foot-0 guard, citing him as the game-changer for the Tigers.

"Tyrese Hunter got UCONN on the grill 😂," a fan wrote.

"I miss tyrese hunter at Texas. Glad he’s smoking this UConn pack," another fan commented.

"Tyrese hunter could shoot it from the parking lot and it’s going in.," another fan wrote.

More fans joined in to appreciate Hunter's basketball skills:

"Tyrese Hunter has hit 7 3’s and scored 26 points as Memphis leads #2 UConn by 8 with under 8 to go in Maui. Remember, Hunter has barely practiced while dealing with a sore knee. Impressive.," a fan commented.

"Tyrese Hunter is a walking bucket," another fan wrote.

"Can’t believe Rodney Terry couldn’t keep Tyrese Hunter. He’s so damn good," another fan commented.

Tyrese Hunter's heroics helped keep UConn Huskies from winning

Dan Hurley's crew stormed back to push the game into overtime in the final three minutes. As freshman Liam McNeeley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the gap to four, veterans Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra added two points each.

Down by three, Dan Hurley took a timeout with 14 seconds left in the game. It was enough for freshman Solo Ball to get a shot up from behind the arc and force OT with just a second left in regulation.

Unlike UConn, Memphis failed to harmonize its roster in the final minutes. Sophomore guard PJ Haggerty was their sole point of offense in the crunch time. Moreover, Hardaway's playbook did not see Hunter attempting a single shot in the final eight minutes. Eventually though, despite all the shortcomings, the Tigers won the contest.