Jordan Hawkins scored a team-high 20 points and No. 18 UConn used a 14-point run in the middle stages of the second half to pull away from No. 20 Providence for a 87-69 win on Wednesday in Storrs, Conn.
Hawkins and Nahiem Alleyne hit three 3-pointers apiece to help the Huskies (21-7, 10-7 Big East) earn their fifth win in six games.
Adama Sanogo and Alex Karaban had 16 points apiece for UConn, and Tristen Newton added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Karaban pulled down eight rebounds.
The Huskies scored 50 second-half points and outrebounded Providence (20-8, 12-5) by a 40-20 margin in the game.
Bryce Hopkins scored 16 points, Jared Bynum had 14 points and a game-high four 3-pointers and Noah Locke added 11 points as the Friars took their first double-digit loss since November.
UConn had a 55-52 lead with 12:39 left before Alleyne’s 3-pointer started the key run.
Andre Jackson Jr.’s jumper followed, and then the Huskies scored three straight points and seven of the next nine from the free-throw line. Newton’s lob to Donovan Clingan for a dunk was the only field goal in that stretch.
Karaban and Joey Calcaterra hit 3-pointers in the final minutes as UConn expanded its lead to 20 and beyond.
The first half featured seven lead changes, but the Huskies had the longer runs and took a 37-32 lead into halftime.
Newton’s triple jolted a 9-2 run that Hawkins capped with a layup for an 11-6 edge.
Clifton Moore and Hopkins connected from deep to flip a 13-8 UConn lead into a 14-13 Providence advantage.
Bynum had 12 points over the opening 20 minutes, hitting a shot from deep to give Providence a 22-18 lead.
Karaban’s layup and an Alleyne fastbreak 3-pointer comprised a 5-0 UConn run before half.
The Huskies started the second stanza with five straight Hawkins points.
Ed Croswell hit the game’s first free throw to complete a three-point play with 17:32 left, and a quick 5-0 Friars run pulled the visitors within 44-39.
After Sanogo canned consecutive baskets, a 7-0 run in 52 seconds cut Providence’s deficit to two. Carter’s steal and transition dunk finished the streak, but the Friars never pulled level or took the lead in the second half.
–Field Level Media
