STORRS, Conn. — Xavier had cut an 18-point UConn lead to just four with 10:11 left in the game. On the next possession R.J. Cole dribbled a bit, waited for his moment, and drove strong, finishing with a tough layup over the outstretched hands of the Musketeers defender.
It seemed that every time Xavier threatened to take the lead, Cole put on his proverbial superhero cape and answered with a timely bucket.
The UConn men’s basketball team, led by Cole’s 16 points, defeated Xavier, 72-61, at Gampel Pavilion on Saturday. Forward Adama Sanogo added in 15 points and nine rebounds and Tyler Polley 16 points as the Huskies won their third straight Big East Conference game.
UConn coach Dan Hurley was happy to come away with the win despite 18 turnovers.
“Thrilled to get that win,” he said. “First half pretty dominant performance against a team of that caliber. Credit to Xavier and credit to Travis Steele. Those guys are incredibly hard to beat. The turnover situation put us in harm’s way. In a huddle or in just terms of expression of the communication on the player’s faces, when you’ve been through what we’ve been through, 25 games into the season, our guys are pretty resilient. They didn’t blink.”
While Sanogo and Polley dominated the first half, Cole kept the team from collapsing in the second. He had 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field, accounting for 11 of the Huskies’ 28 second-half points.
Although Cole had three fouls and had to sit for a bit, he was waiting for his moment.
“Sitting on the bench, I told myself to stay in it,” he said. “My team is going to need me eventually. When I got the call to get back in the game, I took it upon myself. It was a rough go, so I said all right, you have to find a way to put a ball in the hole for either yourself or your teammates.”
In the opening 20 minutes Sanogo showed off an array of post moves and patience on the offensive end, deterred opponents at the rim and started multiple fast-break opportunities with his rebounds. He shot 7 for 10 from the field.
Polley had a first half to remember, shooting a perfect 4 for 4 from the field for 11 points. He made shots with hands in his face, little space and a high degree of difficulty. His shooting helped space the floor leading to 24 paint points for UConn.
Polley has an affinity for playing at Gampel.
“I think I’m a great shooter anywhere,” he said. “Gampel is just like electrifying and just different playing here. I felt a little different energy coming into this game. I try to stay confident and take good shots, that took care of the rest.”
The No. 24 Huskies (19-7, 10-5 Big East) now hold sole possession of the third place in the conference behind Providence and Villanova. Xavier falls 17-9 and 7-8 and is tied for seventh with St. John’s. UConn has four games remaining before the Big East tournament March 9-12 at Madison Square Garden.
The game added meaning as UConn posthumously honored Harrison “Honey” Fitch, the school’s first Black basketball player, at halftime. Fitch played for the Huskies from 1932-34,
Former Husky and current NBA player, James Bouknight was in attendance and was ejected late with around 13 minutes to go in the second half. He ended up sneaking in with the student section to watch the rest of the game.
Hurley didn’t see what happened with Bouknight.
“Not an ideal scenario,” he said. “I didn’t really see what happened. I don’t want to comment on that, James is my guy.”
UConn’s offense took some time to get off the ground. Andre Jackson collected the rebound after a Tyrese Martin missed 3, went up for the layup, and missed it, but tipped in the miss to give the Huskies their first points at the 16:45 mark.
At 12:33, Polley hit a tough jumper and got fouled in the process putting UConn up 11-6, but he missed the free throw. Polley and Martin hit back-to-back 3s for a 26-21 lead with 07:27 left in the first half. UConn went on an 11-1 run to put them up 41-26 and force a Musketeers timeout at 1:26.
The Huskies defense did a great job being more physical than Xavier. UConn held the Musketeers to 9 for 25 (36%) shooting from the field in taking a 44-7 lead into the break.
Xavier started the second half with more energy on both sides of the court. At 14:38, the Musketeers’ Paul Scruggs made a layup to cut the Huskies lead to 49-41. With UConn only up six, Cole stepped and drained a 3 for a 52-43 lead. The Musketeers’ Adam Kunkel answered with a 3 of his own on the next possession. At 11:13, Xavier cut the lead to four points on a Jack Nunge layup. The Huskies answered with 7-2 a run to put themselves up 59-52. The Musketeers wouldn’t get closer than four points the rest of the game.
