STORRS — Jalen Adams scored 21 points, Alterique Gilbert added 19 and UConn snapped a three-game losing streak with a 76-64 win over SMU on Thursday night.
Christian Vital chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (10-6, 1-2 American Athletic Conference), who won for the first time this season in conference play.
immy Whitt Jr. had 20 points and Jahmal McMurray added 15 for SMU (10-5, 2-1), which had won four straight and eight of its previous nine games.
The Huskies shot 52 percent from the floor, including a blistering 65 percent in building a 42-31 halftime lead.
They extended the lead to 15 points in the second half on a 3-pointer from Gilbert, before SMU made a run, cutting the lead to six points on a putback by Isiaha Mike with 12 minutes to go.
But the Huskies answered. It was 64-52 after Josh Carlton followed up a Gilbert miss on a drive to the basket and the lead was 15 again when Gilbert hit a pullup in the lane with five minutes left.
BIG PICTURE
SMU: The Mustangs had held their previous four opponents to under 40-percent shooting and 25 percent from 3-point range. UConn hit 22 of 42 shots and was 9 of 19 from 3-point range. SMU fell to 2-1 in true road games this season, with wins over Georgetown and Tulane. The Mustangs were just 2-8 on their opponents’ home courts last season.
UConn: UConn: The Huskies improved to 6-0 in their first American Athletic Conference games each year at Gampel Pavilion.
UP NEXT
SMU: The Mustangs return home to host Tulsa on Saturday.
UConn: The Huskies hit the road for a game on Saturday night at Cincinnati.
