Rapid Recap: UConn Handles East Texas A&M, 81-46
UConn men’s basketball cruised to an 81-46 win over East Texas A&M Tuesday night in the team’s final game before the Maui Invitational. The No. 2-ranked Huskies overcame a season-high 19 turnovers to get to 4-0 on the season.
Led by Tarris Reed Jr., who posted a game-high 10 rebounds all in the first half, UConn outrebounded the Lions 44-35. East Texas shot just 25.4 percent from the field on the night and was bothered by the Huskies’ length as seven UConn players combined for 11 blocks. The Lions’ 46 points were a season low.
East Texas A&M drew first blood with the game’s opening bucket, but UConn responded with a 10-0 run and never looked back. With the offense slow to get going, UConn leaned on its defense and scored 15 points off nine forced turnovers.
The Huskies pulled away as East Texas A&M went nearly five minutes without a basket near the end of the half. Sophomore Jayden Ross put an exclamation point on the first half and stretched UConn’s lead to more than 20 with an emphatic fast-break dunk.
From there on out, it was all UConn. The lead grew to as much as 37 multiple times in the second half. Despite some sloppy stretches, the Huskies overwhelmed the Lions on both ends to secure the victory. For the first time in 16 games, the Huskies posted more turnovers (19) than assists (18).
Solo Ball led the way for the Huskies with 12 points while Alex Karaban (11 points), Liam McNeeley (11), and Aidan Mahaney (10) joined the sophomore in double figures. Ten of 12 Huskies that saw game action scored against the Lions. Mahaney’s 10 points were a season-high for the Saint Mary’s transfer, who shot 4-10 from the field.
After dealing with foul trouble in the first three games of the season, Samson Johnson posted just two fouls in over 20 minutes for the second consecutive game. Freshman Ahmad Nowell made a statement with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 10 minutes, while Hassan Diarra chipped in seven points, five rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes, but also added a season-high five turnovers.
Up next, the Huskies head to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational. UConn will take on Memphis in its first Maui matchup Monday, Nov. 25 with a 2:30 p.m. ET tip against the Tigers on ESPN2.
