University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Tulane University
Polley Notches First Career Double-Double as Huskies Beat Tulane, 67-61
1/9/2020 12:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. – Tyler Polley scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds to notch his first-career double-double and help lead the UConn men's basketball team to a 67-61 win over the Tulane Green Wave Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies grab their first AAC victory and improve to 10-5 on the season.
Three other Huskies joined Polley in double figures: Christian Vital tallied 14 points and eight rebounds, Alterique Gilbert scored 11 points and dished out seven assists while Josh Carlton added 10 points and four boards of his own.
Carlton got going early, scoring two of the first four buckets of the game for the Huskies, who held a two-point lead by the first media timeout. After Tulane scored seven-straight to go up 14-11, Vital drained a triple while Polley, James Bouknight and Isaiah Whaley converted baskets in the paint to regain the lead for the Huskies, 20-16, with just over seven minutes left in the first. At the break, UConn held a seven-point lead, 36-29.
An 11-4 burst to begin the second half gave the Huskies a 13-point lead, 46-33. The road team responded out of the break, as back-to-back baskets from guard Christion Thompson sparked a 10-0 run to cut the Husky lead down to three.
Following the under-12 media timeout, Polley scored 10 of UConn's next 14 points to push the lead back to nine. Nobel Days' layup with 46 seconds remaining cut the Huskies' lead to just three points, but Vital converted a layup on the other end to seal the win.
