University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
UNC-Wilmington
Huskies, Closer To Full Strength, Roll Over UNC Wilmington
11/19/2022 12:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / Nov. 18, 2022
STORRS, Conn. – UConn sophomore Jordan Hawkins celebrated his return to the lineup with a career-high 20 points.
Junior Andre Jackson Jr. celebrated his return to the lineup with 5 assists and inspiring energy.
Junior Adama Sanogo celebrated his return from a mediocre performance with a game-high 24 points.
The trio, along with the impressive depth the UConn men's basketball team has displayed throughout the early season, shrugged off a game effort in the opening minutes by North Carolina Wilmington to bombard the visiting Seahawks. 86-50, Friday night at Gampel Pavilion.
The No. 25 Huskies (4-0) broke open a tight game with a 17-6 run in the last 4:00 of the first half and a 24-5 explosion in the first 9:00 of the second. Nine players hit the scoreboard as UConn opened the lead as wide as 41 points and coasted to the finish line with its fourth consecutive game of 80-plus points.
"I've said this in the huddle a couple of times, but the depth really shows now," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "You've got to bring quality the court, defensively and on the backboard. We have more depth and more quality than we have had since I have been here. You have to play well in order to stay on the court."
The head coach was obviously thrilled to have his two starters back in action after Jackson missed the first three games with a broken pinky and Hawkins missed the last two after suffering a concussion in the season opener..
"Andre is just a rare type of player," Hurley said. "He flipped that whole game and took just two shots. The energy that he brought – plus 33.  Sometimes the plus/minus is incidental, but not in this instance. He changed the whole tenure of the game."
Hawkins his a career-high 5 three-pointers on his way to his first 20-point game in college and added 2 assists and 2 steals.
"For a guy that has been out and being on a team that plays as hard as they do, he looked pretty damn good," Hurley said.
Wilmington (1-3) did not make life easy for UConn at the outset as forward Amari Kelly was tough on the glass and lightning-quick guards Jamarii Thomas (16 points) and Shykeim Phillips (16 points) were impossible to keep under control.
But the Seahawks had their share of problems trying to contain Sanogo, who had a disappointing 11-point effort in UConn's last outing, but had 17 points in the first half alone against Wilmington.
UConn held a slight 23-22 edge with under 4:00 remaining in the first half, but Hawkins took over down the stretch, scoring 9 points to lead the Huskies to a 40-28 halftime lead.
With Hawkins and freshman Alex Karaban (12 points, 5 rebounds) firing from the outside and Sanogo a force inside, the Huskies completely dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
By the time the dust cleared, UConn had a 64-33 lead and the contest was out of reach.
"We just have to continue to push each other every single day in practice and get all the guys that haven't been here back up to speed," Jackson said. "Once we all buy in to what Coach Hurley is trying to do with this team, we're going to have a special group."
UConn won't have much time to enjoy the victory as the Huskies return to action on Sunday, playing host to Delaware State at the XL Center in Hartford (5 p.m., FS1).
