HARTFORD – The UConn men’s basketball team was in need of a decisive, blowout victory after its winless trip to the Maui Invitational earlier this week. Meeting Maryland Eastern Shore in a buy game at the XL Center on Saturday, two days after their return flight, the Huskies cruised to a 99-45 victory without their leading scorer, Alex Karaban.
In a balanced effort, UConn (5-3) had six players in double-figure scoring and 10 with at least five points.
“Just happy to put this week behind us,” coach Dan Hurley said, opening his post-game press conference thanking the fans for their support and asking for patience. “Some of the things that are issues for us were still issues for us tonight. And if we want to get back to the type of team and program that we’ve been the last couple of years, we’ve got to continue to shore those things up. But it’s just nice to put this incredibly long week behind us.”
Liam McNeeley and Jaylin Stewart, in Karaban’s typical starting spot, led the way with 16 points a piece while Solo Ball and Aidan Mahaney added 12 and 11, respectively. Jayden Ross recorded the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Tarris Reed Jr. notched his fourth of the season with 10 points and 12 boards.
Karaban sat on the bench in street clothes after suffering what Hurley said he thinks is a “pretty mild concussion” near the end of the seventh-place game in Maui, which UConn lost to Dayton. He was cleared at a local hospital and flew back with the team late Wednesday night.
His absence on Saturday have his younger teammates an opportunity to play without having their leader to lean on.
“Coach has talked to us a lot about just playing hard overall in general on the defensive end, and I think it allowed all of us to gain some more trust in each other when Alex is not on the court. I think part of it was good for us,” Ross said, “but we definitely can’t wait to have him back.”
The other two-time champions on the current roster got the sold-out home crowd going early when Hassan Diarra, starting at point guard for the third game in a row, found Samson Johnson wide open for an alley-oop dunk. Johnson had a couple of those on Saturday, finishing with seven points, four rebounds and – most notably – zero fouls. He also had two blocks and two steals, as UMES turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes.
McNeeley, a freshman, and Ball, a sophomore, took advantage and were able to drive through the lane for layups. Stewart, making his first career start, nailed a 3-pointer and Diarra followed suit to push UConn’s lead out to 18-4 after seven minutes.
Hurley sent in freshman point guard Ahmad Nowell about midway through the opening half. Nowell played some effective minutes in Maui and continued on Saturday, assisting Ross on a dunk and scoring five points in a flurry.
A triple from McNeeley pushed UConn’s lead to 30-8 with 8:35 on the clock, and Ball made a layup a minute later.
UConn went the next six and a half minutes without scoring on the UMES defense, which entered the game ranked No. 357 of 364 Division I programs, by KenPom’s metrics.
“I think the whole team was excited to get back on the court and just get back in the right direction. Just get a win in the winning column,” McNeeley said. “We’re just trusting in the coaches and we’re gonna figure it out as a team. There’s a lot of stuff we have to do, internally, just all of the guys to figure it out, but I promise we’ll do it.”
Mahaney eventually ended the drought with a layup through contact and the Huskies took a 40-18 lead into halftime.
UConn had missed nine consecutive 3s until Ross hit his first of the game nearly four minutes into the second half. Stewart scored seven of the first 13 points after the break and was replaced by freshman Isaiah Abraham, who almost immediately made a 3.
The lead grew to 40 following consecutive triples from Ball and to as many as 55 with a minute to go.
The Huskies shot 66.7% from the field in the second half and 54.2% for the game, making 10-of-27 from beyond the arc. They had a 48-23 advantage on the glass.
UMES dropped to 2-9, and has lost games against Illinois by 47, and Arkansas by 74 – now UConn by 54 – in the last week.
“We’re going to need grace and we’re going to need patience,” Hurley said. “Just incredible support from our fans and our crowd, not just in attendance, but also externally, social media. This team is– it’s a work in progress. We’ve got so many new guys, so many young guys, so many people that moved into much bigger roles or are playing for the first time, or just got here, who now are carrying the weight of the monster of a program that we’ve created here.”
UConn will have a bit of a break from game action before hosting No. 17 Baylor at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. FS1). The Huskies were still ranked No. 2 in the country on Saturday, but will see a drop in the new AP poll on Monday after losses to Memphis, Colorado and Dayton in the Maui Invitational this week.
“It was a jarring week. It was a humbling week. It knocked us on our butt pretty good,” Hurley said. “I think that this was obviously a quick turnaround from such a long trip, but it was good to be able to have guys see the ball go in and have some success. Obviously the level of competition from here on out is going to be incredibly high-level, which is really, really exciting. And we’ll get a chance to play those games in a lot more comfortable environments, places we’re comfortable – XL, Gampel, MSG, just regular road games.”
Following the tough test against Baylor, the nonconference slate concludes at Texas on Dec. 8 and at Madison Square Garden against No. 3 Gonzaga on Dec. 14. Big East play begins with No. 22 Xavier in Hartford on Dec. 18.
Asked to assess his team, Hurley said: “Our defense has been a disaster and we’re playing nowhere near as hard as we’ve played in the past. Our rebounding has been a major problem, and then the fouling… We gotta have better discipline not fouling people. But, yeah, I think a lot of things could be better. I think the coaching could be better. I think the point guard play could be better. I think the center play could be better. I think the shooting could be better.
“I think there’s a lot of things that could be better. But I think we’ll get that squared away. We’ve created a monster here that we’re not playing up to right now, but I do think (there is) potential for us to get there. Just, it’s just gonna take us a little bit more time.”