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STORRS — UConn men’s basketball hosted Columbia for the Huskies’ third game of the season, improving to 3-0 after another comfortable win, 89-62. Dan Hurley’s squad was ranked no. 3 in Monday’s AP Poll after opening the season with wins over New Haven and UMass Lowell.
The Huskies got off to a sluggish start, beginning 1-of-6 from three as Columbia briefly led 6-2 before UConn’s shooters came alive and turnovers started leading to runs. Alex Karaban hit three straight buckets, including a three, to pull ahead 9-6.
The Lions had cut the deficit to one at 14-13 before a 14-0 Husky run started to push the game out of reach; Jayden Ross scored eight of those points on his way to 10 on the night, all scored in the first half as he hit foul trouble in the second, eventually fouling out.
Columbia broke the scoreless run, but the onslaught continued.
After a Karaban three, Ross hit another three, and Ball hit another triple before a Karaban dunk-and-steal made it 41-17 with 3:35 left. Karaban, Ross, and Ball were in double figures at halftime as the Huskies led 50-27 at the break.
Tarris Reed Jr., playing in his second game of the season, brought a spark to start the second half as he finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes. The Huskies rolled downhill to victory as they look ahead to a big week of matchups.
Next up, Dan Hurley’s squad will be in Boston’s TD Garden to take on BYU on Saturday at 7 p.m. on FOX. The Cougars are ranked 7th in the AP Poll and 16th in KenPom after starting their season with wins over Villanova and Holy Cross.
Right after that, they host Arizona at Gampel. The Wildcats are ranked 5th in the AP Poll and 10th in KenPom.
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