STORRS — Terry Larrier scored a career-high 27 points and UConn opened the season Friday night with a 70-58 win over Colgate.
Larrier, coming off a knee injury that kept the VCU transfer out most of last season, hit 11 of his 18 shots, and was 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Antwoine Anderson, a graduate transfer from Fordham, added 12 points and six assists for the Huskies, who are coming off a disappointing 16-17 season.
Colgate’s Will Rayman had 14 of his 19 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer that sent the Raiders to intermission trailing the Huskies just 33-31.
UConn scored the first seven points after the break and a put-back dunk by freshman Isaiah Whaley put the Huskies up 51-37 midway through the second half. Larrier scored seven straight down the stretch to put the game away.
The Huskies played just one person, Christian Vital, who saw significant minutes a year ago. They were without star guard Jalen Adams, who was suspended after being charged with a misdemeanor after police say he left the scene of a scooter accident on Wednesday.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: The Huskies are already off to a better start than a year ago. UConn began the 2016-17 campaign with losses to Wagner and Northeastern and then lost Alterique Gilbert (shoulder) and Larrier (knee) for the season to injury during the next two games.
Colgate: The Raiders were not shy about launching the ball from behind the arc, going 8 of 29 from 3-point range. Colgate returns all five starters from last season, their top five scorers and 13 players with game experience. Jordan Swopshire had 14 points for the Raiders.
UP NEXT
UConn: The Huskies are at their other home arena, the XL Center in Hartford, on Tuesday night to take on Stony Brook.
Colgate: Colgate returns home to face Cornell next Thursday night.
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