Solo Ball hit for a team-high 12 points as No. 2 UConn rolled to an 81-46 win over East Texas A&M on Tuesday in Storrs, Conn., to capture its fourth straight win to open the season.
The Huskies were ahead by 22 points at halftime and by 37 in the middle of the second half while waltzing to the finish line. UConn outshot East Texas A&M 54.2 percent to 25.4 percent and had a 50-24 edge in points in the paint.
Liam McNeeley and Alex Karaban added 11 points each in the win while Aiden Mahaney scored 10 and Tarris Reed Jr. grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. All four of the Huskies’ wins have been over mid-major teams and by at least 35 points.
Camerin James led all scorers with 18 points for East Texas (1-4). He was the lone Lions player in double figures.
The Huskies fashioned a 10-0 run after allowing East Texas A&M the game’s first basket and led 24-10 after a 3-pointer by Mahaney and then a three-point play from McNeeley, the latter at the 8:31 mark of the first half.
The Lions swung back, paring their deficit to nine points on a 3-pointer by Yusef Salih with six minutes to play in the first half. That seemed to awaken UConn, as the Huskies responded by scoring the ensuing 14 points capped by a three-point play by Ross with 55 seconds left and — after a pair of free throws by Ahmad Nowell with 27 seconds remaining – they carried a 42-20 advantage to the break.
Ball led all scorers before halftime with 10 points as UConn outshot the Lions 51.7 percent to 24.1 percent, outrebounded the visitors 27-14 and had an 11-0 edge in fast break points over the first 20 minutes.
Scooter Williams Jr. paced East Texas A&M with seven points in the first half.
UConn boosted its lead to 36 points on Ball’s layup with 13:25 to play. The Huskies were up 64-27 before East Texas A&M forged a 12-2 run culminated by a three-point play from James to pull within 66-39 and send four of the Huskies’ starters back into the game to regain the momentum.
The Huskies pushed the lead back to 37 before settling for the 35-point final margin.
–Field Level Media
