No. 6 UConn men’s basketball dominates Stonehill, 107-67

UConn men’s basketball handled its business at the XL Center on Saturday, taking down the Stonehill Skyhawks 107-67. Dan Hurley’s squad is now 2-0 after two comfortable victories to start the season.

The Huskies’s size proved to be their greatest advantage. UConn outrebounded the Skyhawks 41 to 25, as Stephon Castle led the way with eight. The five-star freshman delivered a complete performance, finishing with 17 points, five assists, and two steals.

Tristen Newton led the way with 22 points as all five starters hit double figures. Donovan Clingan had 16 points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes on 8-of-15 shooting, missing his one three-point attempt and both free throws. Luckily every other starter was perfect from the line with at least four attempts each. Alex Karaban delivered an efficient 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Cam Spencer added 12 points with six assists and five rebounds.

UConn scored the game’s first twelve points on the back of the fifth-year senior leader, who started the game 3-of-3 from downtown. He contributed in all facets of the game, dishing out four assists and grabbing five steals as well.

Samson Johnson and Hassan Diarra were the first to sub in, and the former made his presence felt immediately. Johnson was nearly burnt on a full-court inbounds pass but recovered with a phenomenal chase-down block and rim-run alley-oop on the other end directly after. Johnson led the bench scoring with eight points.

While UConn’s size and athleticism enabled the team to easily control this game, its ball movement that stood out the most. The Huskies notched 24 assists on 38 shots made, as three different players ended with at least four (Castle, Spencer, and Newton).

The Huskies have one more tune-up game this Tuesday, November 14 vs. Mississippi Valley State at 7:00 pm ET. That game will be available on FS2. After that, they’re in New York City to take on Indiana at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, November, 19.