UConn spreads the wealth as 11 players score in 90-49 win over Le Moyne

HARTFORD, Conn. — The UConn men’s basketball team had five different players finish in double-figure scoring as the Huskies rolled over Le Moyne, 90-49, at the XL Center on Wednesday night.

After all 12 players contributed to the scoring in a “below brand” game on Saturday, there were 11 involved against the Dolphins. Alex Karaban led the way for the third straight game as he totaled 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Liam McNeeley scored 15 and Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. added 12 apiece, with Reed grabbing 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.

Hassan Diarra, quiet with just three made shots through UConn’s first two games, ended a scoring drought of almost four minutes with a pair of layups within 30 seconds of one another. He finished with a season-high 10 points and six assists.

UConn made it back-to-back games with an 0-for-9 start from beyond the arc as open shots continued to clank off the rims in the XL Center, where the team had a similar start on Saturday against New Hampshire. But McNeeley finally cracked the lid with about eight minutes to go in the first half, knocking down a wide-open shot from the corner. McNeeley landed another from the XL Center logo in the first half.

Karaban, far and away the Huskies’ most reliable player, made his first 3-pointer just before McNeeley’s long ball and led a fast break after a block from Samson Johnson, rising up for a two-handed dunk to get the weekday crowd going. Diarra tacked on a 3 and found Jaylin Stewart for a layup at the buzzer, sending the Huskies into the half with a 38-19 lead.

Johnson, avoiding foul trouble for the first time this season, played 23 minutes and finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists with four blocks and a pair of steals.

UConn shot 48.4% from the field in the first half and 4 for 16 from beyond the arc. The Huskies cut down on the fouls and showed improvement defensively, holding the Dolphins to 27.6% from the field and just 2 for 11 from 3.

Le Moyne’s Dwayne Koroma, a 6-foot-8 forward from Germany, stood out as the only Dolphin with multiple made shots in the first half as he went to the break with nine points. Koroma finished with a team-best 13 points.

After the initial shooting slump, Karaban and McNeeley continued to hit shots from beyond the arc to help UConn pull away in the second half. Ball got in on the party in the second half after sitting much of the first with two fouls. He hit a 3-pointer, then got a steal on the other end and punched an emphatic one-handed dunk, then hit another 3-pointer in a second-half sequence that put the Huskies up 58-30 with 14 minutes to go.

Stewart fed Reed and Jayden Ross for massive dunks in the second half and finished with five assists. Reed continued to pour in buckets late in the game after not making any from the field in the first half, and Ross brought out more oohs and aahs as he flew to slam another with the game in hand.

The Huskies shot 62.5% in the second half, and finished the game shooting 12 for 33 (36.4%) from beyond the arc.

UConn (3-0) will host one more game in Connecticut, against East Texas A&M (formerly Texas A&M — Commerce) at Gampel Pavilion Tuesday night, before flying out for the Maui Invitational.