The Huskies didn't have their best shooting touch and their coach was unimpressed with their defense, but they did enough to beat a team playing its first Division I game.
No. 4 UConn fought off a determined New Haven squad, playing its first game as a Division I program, as the Huskies won their season opener 79-55 on Monday in Storrs, Conn.
Veteran Alex Karaban led the Huskies with a double-double -- 19 points and a game-high10 rebounds in 32 minutes. His points came on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 attempts from long range.
He was the shooting star for the Huskies, who were just 8 of 23 from 3-point range and shot 48.2% for the game.
Solo Ball added 18 points for the Huskies. He was just 4 of 14 from the field but made all seven attempts from the foul line. Jaylin Stewart scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds, while Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr. added 10 points and five boards in his UConn debut.
Center Tarris Reed Jr. did not play as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury. Freshmen guards Braylon Mullins both sat out with ankle injuries.
Coach Dan Hurley found plenty to be critical of after the game, namely defense and the lack of assists, but said he had found the spots that need improvement.
"For me it comes down to really bad 1-on-1 defense," Hurley said.
"“That game sucked," he added, vowing the Huskies will "get better from this.”
Andre Pasha had team highs of 17 points and six rebounds for New Haven. Najimi George added 14 points and four rebounds, with Maison Adeleye scoring 13 points.
The Chargers also weren’t razor sharp, shooting 44.2 percent (23 of 52) but scored 12 points off 12 UConn turnovers.
The Huskies went on a 7-0 run late in the first half to take a 29-15 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first half, and the lead grew to 34-19 at halftime.
New Haven went on a 7-0 streak of its own to cut the UConn lead to 45-35 with 15:30 left in the game, but the Chargers wouldn’t get any closer. That’s in part due to Karaban, who scored seven consecutive points to give the Huskies a 67-46 advantage with 6:06 remaining.
Despite the loss, New Haven coach Ted Hotaling seemed delighted that he and his team had the opportunity to face a program that has won two of the past three national titles.
"Coaching against Dan Hurley is awesome," he said.
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