The UConn Huskies finally stepped onto a court where the opponent wasn’t themselves as they beat the Division II American International College Yellow Jackets 83-58 at Gampel Pavilion.
Hasheem Thabeet paced the No. 2 Huskies with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocked shots against the vastly undersized Yellow Jackets. Gavin Edwards added 15 points and 7 rebounds in 15 minutes while Jeff Adrien had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Craig Austrie had a rough night from the field (2-of-8) but finished with 11 points and 6 assists. Kemba Walker’s Husky debut was a good one as he had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and A.J. Price returned to action with 8 points in 24 minutes of action.
Jim Calhoun’s alma mater was paced by Isiah Wallace with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Colson Senat added 10 points while Lucius Millinder and Aikeem Vanderhorst both had 8 points.
The Huskies came out of the gate slowly but with the score tied 7-7 scored the next 7 points on 5 points from Walker and a layup by Austrie. After a Millinder 3, the Huskies opened the game with another 7-0 run as the Huskies never looked back the rest of the night.
UConn had a good shooting night from the floor as they shot 53.6% (30-of-54). The Huskies used their size to their advantage as they outscored the Yellow Jackets 44-20 in the paint and enjoyed a 44-25 rebounding advantage as well.
The Huskies return to action next Sunday afternoon when they host UMass-Lowell at the XL Center. The game isn’t on television and once again will be broadcast on AT&T Huskies All-Access and the UConn Huskies Radio Network.
