Taking care of business
Huskies roll past Grambling St. as schedule gets ready to stiffen
STORRS — On to West Virginia.
The “cupcake” section of UConn’s schedule is over. No more MEAC teams, no more Central Connecticut States. No more pedestrian efforts that still result in a win.
UConn did what it had to do on Saturday against Grambling State at Gampel Pavilion. The 17th-ranked Huskies, down two of their top three scorers for at least the next couple of weeks, started off shaky defensively but ultimately dominated the Tigers to an 88-59 victory.
UConn scored 23 points off 16 Grambling turnovers. The Huskies grabbed 43 rebounds, more than half (22) on the offensive end. R.J. Cole netted 18 points despite missing all six of his 3-point attempts. Freshman Jordan Hawkins showed his shooting range with three 3-pointers and 15 points, and Isaiah Whaley scored from all over the floor (12 points) and grabbed eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, a few players primed for more playing time now that Adama Sanogo (abdomen) and Tyrese Martin (wrist) are out for at least a few weeks, made their pitch. Akok Akok started for just the second time since his February, 2020 Achilles tendon surgery and began the game with a flourish — a monster blocked shot in the early minutes, followed quickly by an alley-oop dunk, foul and free throw.
Akok was largely quiet the rest of the way until garbage time ensued midway through the latter half, and he finished with 10 points and six boards in a season-high 22 minutes.
Samson Johnson, a 6-9 freshman, didn’t do much in nine first-half minutes but hit a 3-pointer and slammed home a dunk late in the latter half. Fellow frosh Rahsool Diggins knocked down a trey in the waning minutes.
Cam Christon led Grambling with 18 points, all in the first half. The 6-foot-6 junior suffered an injury late in the opening half and never returned to the game.
UConn owned a 47-30 lead at halftime, thanks to a 15-2 run near the end of the half. The Huskies forced 13 Grambling turnovers and turned them into 18 points. Otherwise, their defense wasn’t overly impressive, allowing the Tigers to hit 9 of their first 14 shots.
Christon burned the Huskies the most, hitting all four of his 3-point attempts for 18 points before leaving the game.
Grambling shot 50 percent (11-for-22) overall in the half.
And now, things get significantly more difficult. The Huskies’ first true road game on Wednesday night at West Virginia and its notorious pressure defense and rowdy crowd. St. Bonaventure, a preseason Top 25 team, on Saturday in New Jersey. Then, the Big East schedule.
All without two of the team’s three top scorers, at least for a few weeks.
Are the Huskies ready? We’ll find out Wednesday night in Morgantown, W.V.
RIM RATTLINGS
⏩ Rashamel Jones, co-caption of UConn’s first national championship team in 1999, was at the game and received a warm ovation from the crowd during a break. Bristol Central 7footer Donovan Clingan, a UConn signee, was, as usual, sitting behind the Huskies’ bench.
⏩ The tip time for UConn’s Never Forget Tribute Classic game against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 11 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey has been moved to 4 p.m. The original slated start time was 3:30 p.m.