Huskies Run Past Rhody In HOF Enshrinement Game
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.
Latest Men's Basketball
- UConn Announces Home-and-Home With ArizonaSTORRS – The UConn men's basketball team has announced a home-and-home series with perennial power Arizona, set to begin on Nov. 19, 2025 in Connecticut. The Huskies will return the game on Nov. 18, 2026 in Tucson.
- Huskies Land Transfer Guard Malachi SmithSTORRS – The UConn men's basketball team has further bolstered its backcourt with the addition of high-impact transfer Malachi Smith. The 6'0 lead guard and Bronx, N.Y. native has signed an aid agreement to join the Huskies for the 2025-26 campaign after spending four seasons at Dayton. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
- Huskies Ink Top Transfer Silas Demary Jr.STORRS – The UConn men's basketball team has picked up a pledge from Silas Demary Jr., with the 6-5 guard signing an aid agreement on Thursday (April 3). Demary (pronounced dem-uh-ree) Jr. joins the Huskies after two seasons at Georgia, where he was a double-figure scorer and All-Freshman team selection. He will join Connecticut for the 2025-26 season with two years of eligibility remaining.
- Huskies Push #1 Florida To Brink In Second Round SetbackRALEIGH, N.C. – The eight-seed UConn men's basketball team (24-11) saw its season end with a 77-75 setback to top-seed Florida (32-4) on Sunday afternoon in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Lenovo Center.
- Huskies Set For Showdown With Top-Seed GatorsRALEIGH, N.C. – The eight-seed UConn men's basketball team (24-10) will play for a trip to San Francisco when it takes on top-seed Florida (31-4) in the Second Round of the West Regional at the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off from the Lenovo Center is set for 12:10 p.m. with the contest airing on CBS. The Final Four crew of Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson will call the action.
- #8 Huskies Top #9 OU For 13th Straight Tourney WinRALEIGH, N.C. – The eight-seed UConn men's basketball team (24-10) tied a modern era record with its 13th-straight NCAA Tournament victory, topping nine-seed Oklahoma (20-14) by a score of 67-59 on Friday night at the Lenovo Center in the First Round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Huskies nearly led wire-to-wire and turned in one of their best defensive performances of the season to secure the triumph.