STORRS, Conn. - The No. 2 UConn men's basketball team (4-0) came away with an 81-46 win over East Texas A&M (1-4) on Tuesday night at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. The contest marked the conclusion of a season-opening four-game homestand.
The Huskies saw four players finish in double-figures in the balanced offensive effort, with eight players finishing between 6-12 points. Solo Ball led the way for UConn for the first time in his career with 12 points, going 5-of-6 from the floor. Alex Karaban and Liam McNeeley both finished with 11 points and Aidan Mahaney dropped 10. Tarris Reed Jr. narrowly missed his third double-double of the season with nine points and 10 rebounds.
For the Lions, Camerin James led all scorers with 18 points off the bench. The Huskies were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, posting a season-high 19 turnovers.
How it Happened
The Lions scored the game's first bucket, but the Huskies responded swiftly with a 10-0 run that including a pair of 3-pointers and a ferocious transition dunk from Ball. A step-back 3-pointer from Mahaney at the 9:03 mark gave UConn its largest lead of the day, and the Lions called for time at 7:15 of the first with the Huskies up 24-12.
At the 5:22 mark of the first, a Hassan Diarra steal led to a run-out slam from McNeeley and prompted another ETAMU with the score 28-17. The swipe-and-score kicked off a 14-0 run that helped Connecticut to a 42-20 halftime advantage. A highlight of the run was a vicious poster dunk in transition for Jayden Ross inside of the final minute, drawing contact and completing a highlight-reel 3-point play.
The Huskies scored the first seven points of the second half and continued to keep the pressure up. UConn ballooned its lead to the game-high of 37 midway through the second stanza and never let the Lions get back within shouting distance.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 54.2 percent (32-59) from the floor but 29.2 percent (7-24) from 3-point range
- Conversely, the Lions were 15-of-59 (25.4 percent) from the field and 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from downtown
- UConn finished +9 (44-35) on the glass, led by 10 rebounds from Reed Jr. and five from Diarra
- The Huskies finished with 11 blocked shots
- Samson Johnson and Reed Jr. led the way with three blocks apiece
- Connecticut entered the contest first nationally with 10.7 blocks per game
- UConn's seven swats in the first half were the most in any half this season
- Connecticut held a 50-24 edge in points in the paint and an 18-4 advantage in assists
News and Notes
- The Huskies have now won 31-straight home non-conference games
- UConn is 29-1 in its last 30 games on campus
- The Huskies are now 47-3 over their last 50 games overall – one of four programs (Gonzaga 20-22, Virginia 17-19, Kentucky 14-16) to record a 50-game stretch of that caliber in the last decade
- Mahaney's double-figure scoring game was his first as a Husky and the 53rd of his career
- UConn has recorded double-figure blocks in three of four games this season
- Ball has scored in double-figures in all four contests this season after doing so three times in his freshman season
Up Next
The Huskies are headed to the 2024 Maui Invitational next week, looking to claim the crown at one of the premiere preseason tournaments for the third time. First up is Memphis on Monday, Nov. 25.
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