Finding a spark
Huskies dominant against Shockers
STORRS — Even when everything appears positive at UConn, it sometimes seems the program just can’t have nice things.
The Huskies rolled to their most convincing league victory in nearly two years on Saturday night, dominating Wichita State from the start en route to an 80-60 win before a Gampel Pavilion sellout.
Jalen Adams was spectacular, Josh Carlton was as energetic as he’s ever been, Tyler Polley was impressive on both ends of the floor, Christian Vital was hitting buzzer-beating 3pointers. The “white-out” crowd of 10,167 was loud, even serenading former coach Dee Rowe with “Happy Birthday” at one point and rising to its feet when Mamadou Diarra made his season debut after summer knee surgery.
“That kind of lit a match for us,” coach Dan Hurley said of the crowd.
Alas, the good spirits temporarily took a hit with 14:37 left to play when point guard Alterique Gilbert fell to the floor after running into a hard (and clean) screen by Wichita’s Morris Udeze. Gilbert
lay on the ground for a few minutes, his face to the floor. Eventually, he walked back to the bench and, a minute later, to the locker room with trainer James Doran, clutching his left shoulder in pain.
The same left shoulder on which Gilbert has had multiple surgeries over the past few years, causing him to play just nine games over his first two seasons at UConn.
Gilbert returned to the bench later in the game, dressed in his warm-up suit, but didn’t return to the game. It appears, however, that the injury isn’t serious.
“Al will be day-to-day,” coach Dan Hurley reported. “Not sure about his availability for Thursday (at UCF), but I think he’s gonna be fine. He’ll probably get some type of test, but the early prognosis is ... not a long-term thing. So, phew! I think disaster averted there.”
Indeed, other than that scare, it was the Era of Good Feeling on Saturday night at Gampel. Vital finished with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and Adams, a 6-foot-3 guard, added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Polley added 12 points, while also holding the AAC’s scoring leader to nine points on 4-for-14 shooting, and Carlton had 11 points and four blocks.
“Those were some impressive blocks,” Hurley pointed out.
The Huskies (12-8, 3-4 AAC) jumped out to a 10-0 start as Wichita State missed its first 10 shots. The Shockers didn’t score a field goal until a Dexter Dennis layup just over seven minutes into the game, by which time UConn owned a 14-4 lead. Wichita (8-11, 1-6) wasn’t much better after that, either, hitting just three of its next 15 shots as UConn opened up an 18point advantage.
The Shockers got to within 12 when Erik Stevenson scored a follow-up hoop (after a resounding Eric Cobb blocked shot), and it appeared their halftime deficit might be manage- able.
But Vital knocked down a long, off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Huskies a 15-point cushion.
Wichita got to within 12 shortly after Gilbert left the game, as UConn seemed a bit deflated.
“That wasn’t the best sight,” Vital admitted. “Knowing what ’Rique has been through, we knew he wasn’t gonna stay down. He wasn’t able to come back in the game, but he helped us a lot to get that lead. At that point, it was on us to make sure we finished the game for him.”
Added Hurley: “If you were around that guy every day, and you saw how big his heart is and the quality of person he is, it did affect us for that short stint there. But when I saw him hit the ground and I heard the line of questioning that he and James were going through, I had a pretty good idea that he was OK. You could see it in his eyes, he was fine, just a little scared.”
Eventually, Adams spearheaded a 12-2 run that sealed the deal.
“I’ve watched Jalen Adams a lot the last two years,” Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said. “That maybe the best I’ve seen him play.”
Cobb added seven boards — five offensive — and Polley snapped a long shooting slump, knocking down 3 of 5 3-pointers, while also holding Wichita’s Markis McDuffie in check.
“The defensive job, by far,” he said, when asked which he was more proud of. “That picked up my offense.”
The Huskies’ entire game was picked up on Saturday night. And it appears Alterique Gilbert will be just fine, after all.
Disaster averted.
RIM RATTLINGS:
▶ In a nice moment, Diarra scored on a layup with 2:40 to play in his first college game since last season.
“Mo has that type of toughness, attitude and presence,” said Hurley. “He’s obviously been dealt a brutal hand with the health. It was good to see him get in there, because he means a lot to the team. He’s one of the most well-liked guys on the team. We all respect him.”
▶ Rowe’s “Happy Birthday” serenade from the sellout crowd during a timeout early in the first half. Rowe is celebrating his 90th birthday.
Longtime UConn radio play-by-play man Joe D’Ambrosio was also honored during a first-half timeout. D’Ambrosio was presented a commemorative basketball by athletic director David Benedict.
▶ UConn president Susan Herbst was booed rather lustily by the crowd when she was introduced during a timeout to toss t-shirts into the crowd.
▶ Bob Hurley Sr. has been to many of his son Dan’s games this season, but he was in his seat about 90 minutes before gametime on Saturday to watch two of his former players, UConn’s Tarin Smith and Wichita’s McDuffie, square off. Hurley, who forged a Hall of Fame career as coach of the legendary St. Anthony’s program in Jersey City, New Jersey, coached both players in high school.