Huskies suffer setback to Seton Hall

NEWARK, N.J. — Donovan Clingan dominated the paint, scoring the UConn men’s basketball team’s first six points of the second half and, for the most part, was the only Husky who really showed up at Prudential Center Wednesday night.

Then, just under 3 1⁄2 minutes into the latter half, that production — along with Clingan’s 7foot-2 frame — came tumbling to the floor.

Clingan was called for a foul on Seton Hall’s Jaden Bediako and fell to the ground, grabbing his right ankle and wincing in pain. He tried to get up but couldn’t, ultimately limping back to the locker room with trainer James

Doran.

Clingan returned to the bench about midway through the half but never re-entered the game. He had suffered a sprained ankle and was seen sporting a walking boot on his right foot after the game.

“He made a play to try to get back in the game, but I don’t think that was what the trainer wanted,” coach Dan Hurley said. “But, tough kid, wanted to get back in.”

Meanwhile UConn, which trailed by just four when Clingan got injured, wound up with its worst loss in nearly four years.

Kadary Richmond scored 23 points and swiped eight steals to lead Seton Hall to a 75-60 romp over the fifth-ranked Huskies. It matches the Huskies’ worst loss since a Jan. 4, 2020 loss at South Florida by the exact same 75-60 score.

“We’ve all got to own it,” a disconsolate Hurley said afterwards. “That was not reminiscent of a top team. That was a pretty embarrassing performance for all of us, myself first in line. To have one of my teams in a conference opener go on the road and perform like this, I’m having a hard time even looking (the media) in the eyes