UConn men’s basketball tops UNC Wilmington, 86-50

Andre Jackson Jr. and Jordan Hawkins both returned from injuries to play key parts in No. 25 UConn‘s 86-50 victory over the University of North Carolina-Wilmington on Friday night at Gampel Pavilion.

Hawkins scored a career-high 20 points and Jackson came off the bench to swing momentum as the Huskies improved to 4-0. Alex Karaban added 12 points for his fourth straight double-digit outing. Tristen Newton and Nahiem Alleyne each added eight points.

Sanogo scored 17 points in the first half and Hawkins added 11 as the Huskies pulled away late in the half to take a 40-28 lead into the break. It was all UConn from there.

“We just have more depth and quality than we’ve had since I’ve been here,” head coach Dan Hurley said.

The Seahawks (1-3) were led by Shykeim Phillips and Jamarii Thomas, who each had 16 points.

“I thought we were good and then they kind of blew it open at the end of the first half,” UNC-Wilmington coach Takayo Siddle said. “In the middle of the second half they blew it open even more, but we fought the whole game.”

Guard Trazarien White came in averaging 18.3 PPG but was held to just two points. Even though White was under the weather and played only 15 minutes, Hurley was pleased with the defensive effort.

Next, the Huskies host Delaware State at the XL Center in a game that will be televised at 5 p.m. on FS1.