Cole to the rescue
Guard lifts Huskies to victory in sloppy second half
STORRS — James Bouknight was sitting in his courtside seat. R.J. Cole was sitting on the UConn bench, saddled with three fouls.
The UConn men’s basketball team’s 17-point halftime lead was being whittled away by a pesky Xavier team, thanks largely to an array of Husky turnovers to start the second half.
With just over 13 minutes left to play, Cole left his seat on the bench to re-enter the game. With just under 13 minutes left, Bouknight left his courtside seat — ejected from the game by referee Mike Roberts.
Just about everything turned around after that.
Cole hit a 3-pointer, and though Xavier managed to continue to chip away and get within four points, the grad point guard scored 11 of his team’s 14 points overall during a key stretch and spearheaded the 24th-ranked Huskies to a 72-61 victory over Xavier at sold-out Gampel Pavilion on Saturday.
“Obviously, thrilled to get the win,” a relieved coach Dan Hurley said. “Those guys are incredibly tough to beat.”
The Huskies used an 18-4 run to close out the first half and enter the break with a commanding, 44-27 advantage. All seemed right in their world.
Cole went to the bench with his third foul just under four minutes into the latter half, with UConn (19-7, 10-5 Big East) up 14.
“I don’t like being out of the game, tired or not,” said Cole, who went to the bench with his third foul a little less than four minutes into the second half. “Having three fouls was definitely tough, and the way the game was going, it was rough to sit and watch. But I told myself to stay in it, my team’s gonna need me eventually. When I got the
call to get back in the game, I said, ‘Alright, you’ve got to find a way to put the ball in the hole, for either yourself or your teammates.’ That was my mindset.”
When Cole returned, the lead was down to eight. Worse, UConn had turned the ball over a whopping 10 times within the first seven minutes of the half.
“I think we let our guard down a little bit,” Hurley noted, “and just were too casual and weak. And you can’t do that in a Big East game.”
Xavier got to within four (52-48) following a Jack Nunge basket with 11:13 to play. That’s when Cole really went to work.
The 6-foot guard scored a tough, high-arching baseline runner over the 7-foot Nunge, and after Jordan Hawkins knocked down a 3-pointer, hit another tough runner to cap a 7-0 Husky mini-run.
Xavier (17-9, 7-8 Big East) countered with a 6-0 run of its own, but Cole sandwiched a drive and another high-arching teardrop around a Zach Freemantle inside score to put the Huskies up seven. Tyler Polley hit three free throws, and while the Musketeers got back to within seven, they would get no closer.
“He’s critical,” Hurley said. “We’ve been a little vulnerable there, behind him this year. I was hoping I could get to the 12-minute mark with the third foul ... But things were unraveling, and then he played really, really smart the rest of the way.”
Cole finished with 16 points, as did Polley, who made all four of his field goals (including a trio of 3-pointers) and five of six free throws. Hurley had said after practice on Friday that he felt a big game coming from Polley, who clearly enjoys shooting at Gampel.
Polley is now shooting 46 percent (13-for-28) from distance at Gampel this season, and 30 percent (9-for-30) at the XL Center.
“I think I’m a great shooter anywhere,” the grad forward said. “I haven’t been shooting the ball particularly great. But Gampel, it’s just different playing here. I felt a little different energy coming into this game. I tried to stay confident, take my shots and that would take care of the rest.”
Polley was 1-for-9 from 3 in his prior three games.
“He didn’t get rattled by the last couple of games where the ball hasn’t found him and he hasn’t been as productive as he’s been at other big points,” Hurley noted.
“He didn’t get rattled, he got ready.”
Adama Sanogo scored all 15 of his points in the first half, and Tyrese Martin grabbed 11 rebounds for UConn, which outrebounded Xavier 42-26 and survived 18 turnovers (14 in the latter half ).
Oh, and as for Bouknight?
Well, the team’s leading scorer last season who was taken with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and now plays for the Charlotte Hornets was booted from his courtside seat. However, it appeared Bouknight took a left turn before leaving the gym and sat up in the students’ section for the rest of the game, moving his seat at different times.
“That was not an ideal scenario, because we were playing bad and kind of melting down a little bit,” Hurley pointed out. “Then he got tossed. I didn’t really see what happened. Then I saw him again, somewhere near the student section ... I don’t know. I don’t want to comment on that. James is my guy. I didn’t see what happened.”
Neither did UConn’s players, apparently.
“It was great to see Bouk, man. He brought energy on the side, I appreciated that,” Polley said. “It is what it is when it comes to (the ejection). I’m not gonna speak too much on that. But I love to see Bouk back around. I miss playing with him. He’s a great player.”
Fortunately for UConn, R.J. Cole’s not too shabby, either. And when he left his own seat on the bench on Saturday afternoon, UConn’s victory was all but sealed.
RIM RATTLINGS
More than two hours ⏩ prior to tip-off, Bouknight, sporting a UConn warm-up jersey, worked on shooting drills with other members of the team.
Also back in the building was ex-Husky Christian Vital, who is currently playing for Rio Grande Valley in the G-League. Bouknight and Vital tossed t-shirts to the fans during a timeout.
Akok Akok took part in ⏩ pregame shooting drills and the 6-foot-9 junior both moved and shot very well. Hurley said on Friday that Akok, sidelined for the past six games with a foot sprain, could possibly return for Tuesday’s bout with Villanova.
Harrison “Honey” Fitch, ⏩ the first Black basketball player at UConn, was posthumously inducted into the Huskies of Honor during a halftime ceremony. His son, Brooks, addressed the crowd.
Hurley and his coaching staff addressed the significance of Fitch with his players.
“It was pretty remarkable,” Hurley said. “Great move by the school and the athletic department.”