University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
8-3,5-3Big East
Butler
5-8,4-6Big East
Martin Scores 20 and Whaley Blocks Seven Shots to Lead Men’s Hoops to Win Over Butler
1/26/2021 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. – Junior Tyrese Martin scored 20 points for the second time this season while junior guard R.J. Cole added 11 points and five assists to lead the University of Connecticut men's basketball team to a 63-51 win over Butler on Tuesday evening in Storrs. With the win, the Huskies improve to 8-3 overall and 5-3 in BIG EAST play. The Bulldogs slip to 5-8 on the year and 4-6 in the league.
Martin's 20 came on 7-9 shooting and he snared six rebounds on the night. Cole was 4-7 from the floor and chased down four rebounds. Freshman Adama Sanogo and senior Tyler Polley each chipped in with eight points while senior Isaiah Whaley swatted a career-best seven shots to go along with six points and five rebounds.
"This is the template," head coach Dan Hurley said. "Strong defense held them to under 35% from the field. I thought we were better offensively moving the ball, 14 assists, 10 turnovers. We definitely could've been more like 18 or 19 assists, but we missed some opportunities. Also missed some point black bunnies and close twos, so we have to get better at that quickly."
The Huskies built a 34-20 lead at the half and extended it to 19 points, 60-41, after Sanogo made a fast break lay up with 5:54 to go. UConn held a lead for 33:34 of the contest and did not let the Bulldogs within 10 points for the entire second half.
UConn seized control of the contest late in the first half on the strength of a 14-3 run over a four-minute stretch to build a 34-20 lead with 3:35 remaining in the first stanza. The run was keyed by six points from Gaffney while Martin led the way in the first half with nine points on 4-4 shooting, lifting the Huskies to a 38-24 lead at the break.
UConn shot 50 percent from the floor and held Butler to just 34 percent shooting. The Huskies also blocked nine shots on the evening and held a 34-30 edge on the glass.
The Huskies are back in action on Thursday, January 28 when the team welcomes No. 3 Villanova to Storrs. Game time is set for 9:10 p.m. and the contest will be televised nationally on FS1.
