Tyler Polley scored 17 points off the bench to fuel No. 23 UConn to a 93-40 victory over visiting Long Island University on Wednesday in Storrs, Conn.
Andre Jackson collected 14 points and three blocks for the Huskies, who turned a 16-point lead at intermission into a rout after outscoring the Sharks by a 55-18 margin in the second half.
UConn (3-0) has recorded three lopsided victories to begin the season. The Huskies breezed to a 99-48 win over Central Connecticut State on Nov. 9 and an 89-54 victory over Coppin State four days later.
Jalen Gaffney and Adama Sanogo each had 11 points, Tyrese Martin added 10, and R.J. Cole collected nine points and six assists for UConn. Cole's dad, Robert, played for Long Island from 1979-83.
Isaac Kante recorded 16 of his 17 points in the first half for the Sharks (0-3). Eral Penn had six points and Connecticut native Ty Flowers was limited to four after averaging a team-leading 17.5 in the first two games for Long Island.
The Sharks didn't do themselves any favors by committing 26 turnovers.
Kante scored six quick points to stake Long Island to a 12-9 lead before Jackson drained his second 3-pointer of the game to ignite a nine-point run for UConn. Jackson also provided a spark with a block on Kante's bid for a driving layup.
Kante made a pair of free throws and a layup to trim the Huskies' lead to 18-16, however Gaffney sank a 3-pointer to ignite another flurry.
UConn used its transition game to extend its advantage before Gaffney and Polley converted from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions to push its lead to 38-22.
Flowers made an uncontested dunk to start the second half for his first points of the game before the Huskies scored 21 of the next 25 points. Martin and Cole each drained a 3-pointer to highlight the surge before Jackson capped it with an emphatic dunk and subsequent foul shot to net UConn a 59-26 lead.
--Field Level Media
LIU | Connecticut | |
Issac Kante 17 | Scoring | Tyler Polley 17 |
Tre Wood 2 | Assists | R.J. Cole 6 |
Issac Kante 9 | Rebounds | Akok Akok 7 |
Issac Kante 5 | Free Throws Made | Jalen Gaffney 5 |
Tre Wood 2 | Steals | Jordan Hawkins 3 |
Eral Penn 2 | Blocks | Akok Akok 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
LIU | 40 | 27.5 | 2-16 | 10-17 | 8 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 26 |
Connecticut | 93 | 45.2 | 8-26 | 29-39 | 14 | 44 | 10 | 14 | 12 |