UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The UConn men's basketball team got the rust off and used a big second half to roll to 102-75 victory over Rhode Island on Monday evening at the Inaugural Hall of Fame Enshrinement Game at Mohegan Sun Arena. The contest was a waiver-approved Charity Exhibtion for Coaches vs. Cancer.
Solo Ball (Leesburg, Va.) led the Huskies with 18 points, going 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from distance along with five rebounds. Aidan Mahaney (Lafayette, Calif.) added 17 points in his first UConn appearance off the bench and Alex Karaban (Southborough, Mass.) chipped in 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Also in double-figures for Connecticut was five-star freshman Liam McNeeley (Richardson, Texas) who scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in his first UConn action. Hassan Diarra (Queens, N.Y.) added a game-high nine assists while Tarris Reed Jr. (St. Louis, Mo.) posted eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
How it Happened
The Huskies started fast, with McNeeley scoring the first bucket of the game which sparked a 10-2 run to open the contest. Things steadied from the there, and the Rams would use a 10-0 run of their own midway through the half to pull ahead. With Connecticut down 38-37 late in the opening stanza, McNeeley and Karaban swished back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Huskies to a 44-40 halftime lead.
Connecticut came out strong again in the second half, and a transition 3-pointer from Ball pushed its lead to 55-46 and forced a Rhody timeout early in the frame. Around five minutes into the second stanza, Reed Jr. connected on a put-back to give UConn its largest lead of the day at 61-47.
At the 13:15 mark of the second, Mahaney went coast to coast for a left-handed lay-up and pushed the advantage to 66-49, prompting another URI timeout. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Ahmad Nowell (Philadelphia, Pa.) in his first run before a three-point play from McNeeley ballooned the lead over 20 at 79-57 midway through the second.
From there, the contest was never in doubt as the Huskies did not let the lead dip below 20 the rest of the way. UConn cracked the century mark in the final minute with a Jayden Ross (Bristow, Va.) 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 55.4 percent from the floor (41-74) for the game and 46.4 percent (13-28) from 3-point range
- Conversely, Rhode Island finished with a 37.3 percent (22-59) mark from the floor and a 40.0 percent (6-15) clip from deep
- The Huskies finished +7 in turnover margin and out-scored the Rams 25-13 off miscues
- UConn finished with a 49-25 edge in bench scoring
- Connecticut finished with a slight 41-40 edge on the glass and out-scored Rhody 56-30 in the paint
- The Huskies posted 29 assists on 41 made field goals
News and Notes
- While Monday's exhibition does not count towards the overall record, UConn leads Rhode Island 77-68 all-time in its most-played series
- Monday night marked the first unofficial action for UConn's five newcomers: Mahaney, McNeeley, Reed Jr., Nowell and Isaiah Abraham (Gainesville, Va.)
- Head coach Dan Hurley faced Rhode Island for the first time after spending six years as the head man in Kingston
Up Next
The Huskies lift the lid on the 2024-25 season and unveil their sixth national championship banner on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with the opener against Sacred Heart. Tip-off from Gampel Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
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