Huskies rally past Bonnies
NEWARK, N.J. — Just under 31⁄2minutes into the second half on Saturday, UConn found itself in a predicament. A Whaley of a predicament, if you will.
Isaiah Whaley, the Huskies’ most productive player of the game to that point, was sent sprawling to the ground on the defensive low post after St. Bonaventure’s Osun Osunniyi appeared to lower his shoulder and barrel into him. The whistle blew.
Foul on Whaley. Instead of a third foul on Osunniyi, one of the top shot-blockers in the nation, it was Whaley’s third. UConn coach Dan Hurley was incensed, barking at the officiating crew for the next several minutes, including through a timeout.
Whaley went to the bench, Osunniyi quickly slammed home a dunk, and the Bonnies soon had a three-point lead.
It would be short-lived. UConn responded with a head-spinning, 13-0 run, capped by consecutive baskets by Jordan Hawkins, who had misfired his prior 13 attempts — seven on Wednesday night at West Virginia and his first six on Saturday.
Hawkins soon added another 3-pointer to cap an 18-2 run and give UConn a 13-point lead, and the 15thranked Huskies held on for a 74-64 victory over the Bonnies in a Never Forget Tribute Classic bout at the Prudential Center.
Two of its top three scorers out of action due to injury? The reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year on the bench with three fouls? Just another set of adverse circumstances for the Huskies to overcome, per Hurley.
“I think all the experiences — the time in the Bahamas, playing through really challenging games like that, dealing with some of the injury stuff, having to go to
West Virginia, losing a game like that — it strengthens your resolve,” Hurley said. “I think everything we’ve dealt with, really since Thanksgiving, has toughened up the team. It’s identified their areas that we’ve got to get better.”
That means other players stepping up, a more wellbalanced effort. That was evident on that 18-2 run as just about all of the Huskies’ available players — except Whaley, of course — contributed.
Akok Akok swatted away a Quadry Adams layup attempt and, on the other end of the floor, Jalen Gaffney scored on a driving layup. Tyler Polley followed with 3-pointer in transition that put UConn (9-2) ahead for good, and Akok came up with another huge block on Domenick Welch.
R.J. Cole hit a free throw, Polley hit a pair of freebies, and then up stepped Hawkins with a baseline jumper, followed the next time down the floor with a 3-pointer.
“I was just so happy for him, because he’s wearing it right now,” Hurley said of the freshman, who tends to get down on himself. “Such a great guy, such a super talent. He wants to be there right now, the finished product. This is the process, this is the journey. The progress is gonna be up and down.”
Jaren Holmes finally scored on a drive to break the drought for St. Bonaventure (8-2). But Andre Jackson scored on a transition layup, and Hawkins followed with a second straight 3 to put the Huskies up, 54-41. The Bonnies would close back to within five, and were withing six inside the final minute before Polley knocked down a 3-pointer to seal the deal.
Cole led UConn with 15 points, despite shooting 5-for-15, and Akok added 12 points and three blocks in perhaps his best all-around game of the season.
“We had key players out,” Akok said. “It’s really just a ‘next man up’ mentality. I tried to step it up. Coach has been hard on me in practice, telling me to raise my intensity. Just going out and playing hard and proving why I should be on the court, that’s all it is for me.”
“He’s at that stage in his career, when you’re on the court, you’ve got to step into a shot and knock it down,” Hurley said. “You’ve got to run and get a dunk. You can’t play extended minutes and not be productive. I’ve been on him pretty good about, ‘This is the time in your career where you’ve go to produce.’ Jalen, Tyler ... they stepped up big.”
Polley scored 13 points, Jackson added nine points and a game-high 11 boards and Gaffney also netted nine.
Hawkins scored eight of his 11 of his points in that two-minute game-changing span span.
“The way he was able to put the first half (behind him) — and the first couple of minutes of the second half, he made a couple of defensive mistakes,” Hurley noted. “He overcame a bad start to the second half and showed great confidence. Those were huge shots he made.”
UConn was without second-leading scorer Adama Sanogo (abdomen) and third-leading scorer and top rebounder Tyrese Martin (wrist). Three minutes into the game, the Bonnies were down perhaps their two best players — leading scorer Kyle Lofton, out for a third game due to a high ankle sprain, and Osunniyi, who picked up two quick fouls.
“He was able to play 26 minutes, and Isaiah was in worse foul trouble than him during the game,” Hurley said. “He was able to play the whole second half without fouling. That’s incredible — especially on that ‘block.’”
Obviously, Hurley felt it should have been called a charge. But instead of a game-altering play, numerous Huskies stepped up in Whaley’s stead and helped notch an important victory.
RIM RATTLINGS
⏩ Hurley had hoped Martin might be able to play on Saturday, but seems more certain that the 6-foot-6 wing will be available for the Huskies’ next game — their Big East opener on Dec. 18 against Providence in Hartford.
“As long as he doesn’t have a setback, he should be there for the opener,” Hurley noted.
As for Sanogo: “We’ll know more the middle of the week. He’s ramped things up, but it’s a delicate injury. At most, maybe he’s a couple of games away, if not in play around the opener.”
⏩ Cole, a product of Union, New Jersey, said he had about 20, 30 family and friends at the game.
“It was amazing to be in this atmosphere — family, friends, UConn Nation showed up big-time, and we were happy to come out with a win,” the point guard said.