UNCASVILLE – Dan Hurley said the UConn men’s basketball team is still a “work in progress” three weeks from its regular season opener. At Mohegan Sun Arena on Monday, when the Huskies hosted Rhode Island in the inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Game, Hurley’s point was spot on.
The reigning back-to-back NCAA champions came out strong but cooled off quickly in the first half, looking like a team that lost four of its five starters as it fell into sloppy turnovers and gifted the Rams trips to the free throw line. The Huskies ran away with the game after the break, providing a perfect sample size for coaches to break down and adjust during what are sure to be intense practices leading up to the first game that counts on Nov. 6.
Leading by only four at halftime, UConn pulled away after the break for a 102-75 win in the charity exhibition matchup, which benefitted Coaches vs. Cancer.
Liam McNeeley, Solo Ball, Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra – in the starting lineup with Samson Johnson at center – combined to make the Huskies’ first four shots from the field as they raced to a 10-2 lead. But former Husky Javonte Brown, taking the court for the first time in a Rhode Island uniform, had his way inside and scored eight of the Rams’ first 10 points as they clawed back.
Karaban and McNeeley knocked down back-to-back triples in the last two minutes of the half, and Johnson had a posterizing dunk with a block on the other end as the Huskies claimed a 44-40 lead heading into the break.
UConn had nine turnovers in the first half and allowed 11 offensive rebounds as it shot 52.9% from the field and 6-of-15 (40%) from beyond the arc. The Huskies improved for just three second-half turnovers and shot 54.8% from the field (44.4% from 3) for the game.
Ball put his development on display as he impacted the game early, making three of his first four shot attempts for a quick seven points. The sophomore guard also grabbed five rebounds in his 12 first half minutes, two on the offensive end, and earned an ovation from the crowd of several thousand after he added five quick points in the second half.
Ball finished the game as the team’s top scorer with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 3-for-6 from deep.
Aidan Mahaney, the junior who transferred from Saint Mary’s, scored nine points in a three-minute stretch as UConn’s lead built to 17 in the second half and finished with 17 on 6-of-8 shooting.
Karaban, tasked with more on-ball duties in his junior season, had 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. Diarra (four points, three rebounds) tallied nine assists with a pair of turnovers, McNeeley had 10 points (3-for-7), four rebounds and three assists in his debut and Johnson finished with eight points, though he only had one rebound and was whistled for four fouls in 20 minutes.
Tarris Reed Jr., the Michigan transfer, had eight points, 10 rebounds and a pair of assists off the bench as every Husky besides Isaiah Abraham, who entered the game late, got involved in the scoring.
UConn begins its quest for a third consecutive national title on Nov. 6 against Sacred Heart in Gampel Pavilion.
