Men's Basketball: No. 19 UConn Beats Furman Ahead of Trip to Bahamas

STORRS — A sound, all-around defensive effort lifted No. 19 UConn to a 83-58 win over Furman Saturday afternoon in its mainland opener for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

The Huskies (3-0), already one of the top teams in the nation defensively, held Furman (2-2) to a 34.5 field goal percentage. Furman was forced to rely on its 3-pointers, a trademark of the Paladins' offense, but to no avail. They shot 10 of 36 from behind the arc.

While the Huskies only blocked one shot, UConn won the battle of the boards inside, as well. The Huskies grabbed 41 rebounds, 13 of them on the offensive end, leading to 12 second-chance points.

Freshman Jalen Adams stepped up for the Huskies Saturday afternoon. The Roxbury, Massachusetts native finished with season highs of 14 points, six assists and two steals. He added two rebounds.

Shonn Miller led all Huskies with 18 points and seven rebounds, proving a dominant inside presence once again. He also had the Huskies' second-best plus-minus rating at plus-20. A late assist on a 3-pointer by Adams helped Rodney Purvis claim the team-high plus-21.

Amida Brimah finished with four points and five rebounds, blocking the only shot UConn rejected on the night.

UConn has only allowed 180 combined points through its first three games, wins over Maine, New Hampshire and Furman, an average of 60 per game.

Kevin Ollie went deep into his bench again, playing nine players for at least 10 minutes each, while Steve Enoch and Phil Nolan played six and eight, respecitvely. Ollie likely will not be able to go that deep again for a while. The Huskies now head to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, where they open against Michigan before potential meetings with Syracuse and Gonzaga.