University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
3-0,0-0Big East
Mississippi Valley State
0-3,0-0SWAC
Spencer's 25 Leads UConn Past MVSU
11/14/2023 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD – Behind 25 points from grad student Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) the No. 5 UConn men's basketball team (3-0) took down Mississippi Valley State (0-3) by a score of 87-53 on Tuesday night at the XL Center. The contest concluded a season-opening three-game homestand to open the season for the Huskies.
Spencer was one of five Huskies in double-figures in the win, as all five starters finished in double-digits for the second game in a row. Donovan Clingan (Bristol, Conn.) finished with 17 points and five rebounds while Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) flirted with a triple-double and notched 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Foul trouble and turnovers plagued the Huskies in the first half, but Connecticut still managed to take a 44-27 lead to the half thanks to the hot shooting of Spencer. UConn cut down its turnovers in the second half and built its lead to as many as 35 in final stanza.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 54.7 percent from the floor and held MVSU to a 32.2 percent mark
- The Huskies were +11 on the glass
- Connecticut recorded 20 assists on 29 made field goals
- The 25 points for Spencer came on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor and a 7-of-11 effort from 3-point range
- UConn finished 11-of-28 from 3-point range and held MVSU to a 1-for-9 effort
News and Notes
- UConn has now won 20 consecutive contests against non-conference foes
- Spencer scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half, knocking down five 3-pointers in the opening stanza
- The seven made 3-pointers for Spencer mark a new career-high
- Clingan has recorded multiple blocked shots in every game this season
- All five starters scored in double-figures for UConn for the second-straight game – the first two times that has occurred in the Dan Hurley era
- Solomon Ball (Leesburg, Va.) made his first career start and finished with 10 points and three rebounds
- After recording nine turnovers in the first half, UConn turned it over only three times in the second
- The Huskies have shot better than 50 percent in each of their three games this season
- The contest marked the first all-time meeting with Mississippi Valley State
Up Next
The Huskies ramp up their non-conference schedule over the weekend when they head to Manhattan to take part in the Saatva Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden. First up for UConn is a 1 p.m. showdown with Indiana on Sunday, Nov. 19.
