Well-balanced Huskies cruise past UMass-Lowell

STORRS — UConn jumped out to a 23-point lead over the first 10 minutes of play Tuesday night, and it appeared the countdown to Sidney Wilson’s collegiate debut would be the game’s only intrigue.

Alas, UMass-Lowell decided to make things competitive, pulling to within 10 by halftime and refusing to go away through the first 10 minutes of the latter.

But UConn ultimately pulled away for a 97-75 victory behind its typical well-balanced scoring attack. Christian Vital scored 17 of his 19 points in the first 10 1⁄2 minutes of play, Jalen Adams also netted 19, Josh Carlton had 15 points and eight rebounds and Alterique Gilbert chipped in with 15 as well.

As for Wilson, he made his long-awaited debut with 8:58 left to play and ... well, his rust (nerves?) showed a bit. Wilson botched an easy pass from Jalen Adams within his first minute of play,

then grabbed an offensive rebound, only to be rejected by the rim on a dunk attempt, leading to a River Hawk run-out.

Wilson, a 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman forward, did not play in the Huskies’ first six games for an undisclosed violation of university rules that dated back to last season. He sat out all of last season after transferring from St. John’s just before the school year started.

Paced by Vital’s 17 points, the Huskies raced out to a 32-9 lead. When Vital hit a 3-pointer with 9:25 left in the half, he was already more than halfway to his career highs in scoring (30) and 3’s (seven) for a game.

But the Huskies seemed to get a little careless, or lax, or both, and let the River Hawks back in the game. A 7-0 run got Lowell to within 14, and an 8-2 run to close out the half made it just a 10point game (44-34) at the

break. UConn didn’t hit a field goal over the final 3:56, and after turning the ball over just twice over the first 17 minutes, had three turnovers in the final three.

Oh, and Adams had three fouls.

Adams kicked off the latter half with a conventional 3-point play, kicking off a 9-2 start. But UMass Lowell was still within 14 midway through the half, until a 10-2 run — capped by an Adams steal and dunk — gave UConn some breathing room.

That’s when the Sidney Wilson Era began. And though it hardly began with a bang, it could be the start of even better things in the future for the Huskies.

⏩ RIM RATTLINGS: A moment of silence was observed prior to the game in memory of Tony Hanson, UConn’s No. 3 all-time leading scorer who died on Sunday morning at age 63.

Stephen Dunn / Associated Press Right, UConn’s Alterique Gilbert goes up against UMass-Lowell’s Sesan Russell (2) during the first half Tuesday in Storrs.

Stephen Dunn / Associated Press UConn’s Tyler Polley, left, and Josh Carlton (25) defend against UMass-Lowell’s Christian Lutete Tuesday night in Storrs. The Huskies prevailed, 97-75, behind a balanced scoring attack.