Rashaun Freeman made a layup with 4.3 seconds left to lift Massachusetts to a 61-59 victory over No. 7 Connecticut on Thursday night.
Freeman came up big time and again for the Minutemen (3-2), who beat the Huskies for the first time in 14 meetings.
UMass hosted a defending national champion in Amherst for the first time, and drew a crowd of 9,037, the largest in four years. Fans stormed the floor at the Mullins Center following the final buzzer.
The Huskies (4-1) ran into a hostile environment on their first road trip of the season. Freeman and the Minutemen's frontcourt beat the Huskies at their own game — rebounding and second chance points.
Massachusetts outscored Connecticut 42-24 in the paint.
Freeman led Massachusetts with 18 points.
The Huskies came back from a 12-point, first-half deficit and held a tenuous five-point lead late in the game.
Freeman hit consecutive baskets with under four minutes left, pulling the Minutemen within a point at 55-54.
Turnovers doomed the Huskies down the stretch. Antonio Kellogg dribbled the ball off his foot, and the Minutemen made him pay. Jeff Viggiano hit a 3-pointer with 55.2 seconds left to give UMass a 57-55 lead.
After UConn's Rudy Gay hit a pair of free throws to tie on the next possession, the Minutemen raced upcourt on the inbounds play and Art Bowers hit Freeman in full stride for the winner.
It was UConn coach Jim Calhoun's first loss to UMass in his 19 years with the Huskies.
Rudy Gay had 13 points for UConn and Josh Boone added 12.
The Minutemen dominated inside early and used a 14-1 run to put the defending NCAA champs in an early hole. Stephan Lasme and Freeman combined for eight points in the spurt. Jeff Viggiano's putback with 12 minutes remaining capped the run and gave UMass an 18-7 lead, bringing a thunderous roar from the crowd.
Lawrence Carrier hit a 3-pointer with 8:46 remaining to give UMass its largest lead at 25-13.
The Huskies finally got untracked and reeled off a 10-0 run. Gay and Rashad Anderson each hit 3-pointers in the outburst.
Gay's two free throws with 2:24 left pulled the Huskies even at 27-all, and after a steal by Marcus Williams, the Huskies briefly grabbed the lead by a bucket on Charlie Villanueva's dunk.
The Minutemen closed out the half on Bower's jumper to take a 31-29 lead at the break.