Point guard Sterling Gibbs scored 21 points and No. 19 Connecticut shot 48 percent from 3-point range Tuesday night on the way to an 85-66 victory over New Hampshire at Gampel Pavilion.

UConn (2-0) ran away from the Wildcats in the opening minutes of the second half with a 12-5 run that put the Huskies ahead 51-34 before a crowd of 9,047. The Huskies, led by Gibbs and guard Rodney Purvis (20 points) made 13 3-pointers on 27 attempts.

Forward Daniel Hamilton (13 points) scored on a layup and was fouled just 15 seconds into the second half. Hamilton was fouled on the basket and missed the free throw but he kept the ball alive with a rebound and forward Shonn Miller scored off another offensive rebound to put UConn ahead 43-29.

UConn's defense forced the Wildcats into a shot clock violation and then Hamilton passed to center Amida Brimah for a crowd-pleasing dunk that extended UConn's lead to 16 points.

Forward Tanner Leissner led New Hampshire (1-1) with 20 points. The Wildcats shot just 29 percent from the field in the first half. A 3-pointer by Purvis with 8:57 left gave the Huskies a 21-point lead and they cruised from there.

Gibbs, who led UConn with 20 points in the Huskies' season opening 100-56 win over Maine, had 18 in the first half against New Hampshire. The Huskies led 39-29 at halftime after Gibbs buried a deep 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining.

Gibbs missed just one shot in the first half. He was 6-for-7 overall, hitting 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He had half of UConn's eight 3-pointers in the first half.

UConn's starting frontline of Hamilton, Miller and Brimah was held scoreless and took just three field goals attempts in the first half.

UConn plays Furman at home on Saturday before leaving for the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.