HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn men’s basketball returned to downtown Hartford’s XL Center Saturday evening and overcame a slow start with a 92-53 victory, advancing to 2-0 on the young season.
The Huskies’ second game was much like their first against Sacred Heart on Wednesday, in which UConn also scored 92 points.
New Hampshire (1-2) led 11-8 at the first media timeout and stuck with UConn for much of the first half. After leading by just five with 1:47 remaining in the frame, the Huskies extended their lead to 35-24 by halftime.
The second half was a very different story. UConn blitzed the Wildcats out of the gates, doubling their lead by the 9:52 mark. The final 39-point margin was the Huskies’ biggest advantage of the game.
UConn was led again by junior forward Alex Karaban, who scored 17 points and drilled three shots from behind the arc. Freshman forward Liam McNeeley had another impressive performance, scoring 10 points and securing 11 rebounds, a team high.
Sophomore guard Soloman Ball chipped in 14 points, as did sophomore forward Jayden Ross, who made his season debut.
The transfers also made an impact. Tarris Reed, Jr., a junior transfer center from Michigan, scored 11 points and hauled in eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Aidan Mahaney, a transfer junior guard from St. Mary’s scored 9 points while hitting two three-pointers. He responded well to his first game, where he was held scoreless.
Senior center Sampson Johnson had a quiet night while dealing with foul trouble, only scoring two points with 1 rebound and 3 assists.
For New Hampshire, junior guard Anthony McComb III led the way, scoring 17 points. Junior guard Sami Pissis added 15 points for the Wildcats, and senior forward Trey Woodyard contributed 11 points.
On the evening, UConn shot 50.8% from the field; New Hampshire shot just 35.4%. The Huskies shot 32.1% from behind the arc, while the Wildcats only made 23.1% of their three-pointers. New Hampshire turned the ball over 17 times compared to UConn’s 10 turnovers, and UConn outrebounded New Hampshire 42-16.
UConn will play next against Le Moyne on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at the XL Center on FS1.
On Saturday, 15,684 fans packed the XL Center to watch the Huskies win.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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