The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Stonewall Jackson
Sophomore shines at both ends of the court in UConn win
STORRS — Andre Jackson saw the play developing as a trailer on a 3on-1 fast break, coiled up and sprang towards the rim for an alley-oop pass.
Only the pass wasn’t meant for him, or even his team. Long Island University guard Tre Wood tried to set up teammate Kyndall Davis with the lob for a dunk. Davis caught the ball, but was rejected at the rim by Jackson in a stunning display of athleticism.
It was hardly the only highlight-reel play for Jackson and his UConn teammate’s in Wednesday’s 93-40 romp over LIU at Gampel Pavilion. Jackson had a couple of rafter-shaking, breakaway dunks, and the Huskies turned the second half into little more than a dunk competition, with six total, including a few alley-oops that had no chance of being rejected at the rim.
No. 23 UConn (3-0) also swatted away 10 shots — none more impressive than Jackson’s but several were close. The Huskies forced 26 turnovers and held the Sharks to 27.5% shooting.
Jackson did a little of everything, surpassing his career-high scoring mark by halftime and finishing with 14, to go with five rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.
Tyler Polley led the Huskies with 17 points, despite going just 2-for-8 from 3. Adama Sanogo added 11 in 20 foul-plagued minutes, Jalen Gaffney also netted 11 despite shooting 2-for-8, and Tyrese Martin finished with 10 points and seven boards.
Highly-touted freshman Jordan Hawkins finally got in on the act, making his college debut after missing UConn’s first two games with an ankle injury. The 6-5 guard checked in with 12:44 left in the second half and lofted up a 3-pointer 30
seconds into his career that was off the mark. He quickly came up with a steal, found Jackson on the break for a rousing dunk, and finished with five points and four rebounds.
Oh, and even walk-on Matt Garry joined the fun. The Southington product knocked down a pair of free throws after being fouled on a fast-break layup attempt with 24 seconds left for his first two points of his career.
The Huskies needed Jackson’s energy and allaround game in the first half, when they looked sloppy at times, making just 5 of 15 3-pointers and shooting 39 percent from the floor. The Huskies owned a 38-22 lead at the break, but coach Dan Hurley couldn’t have been too pleased in the locker room.
LIU’s Ty Flowers scored on a transition dunk to open the latter half, but UConn scored the next 14 points to put the game away. The Sharks (0-3) only scored a dozen more points the rest of the way.
LIU did provide UConn with its biggest, most physical opponent to date. The Sharks lined up five players 6-foot-8 or taller, including the 6-8 Isaac Kante, whose weight wasn’t listed on the lineup sheet but surely surpasses 250 pounds. Kante bullied the Huskies for 16 points in the first half alone, certainly helped by two fouls each called on Sanogo, Isaiah Whaley and Akok Akok.
RIM RATTLINGS
New UConn football coach Jim Mora attended the game and addressed the crowd during a timeout, saying UConn fans have made him feel “so welcome here and already a part of the community.” He also implored the student section to show up for the Huskies’ season finale on Nov. 27 against Houston at Rentschler Field.
Hurley wasn’t available to the media after Tuesday’s practice due to a minor medical issue but was back to his feisty self on Wednesday, at one point jawing with referee Wally Rutecki — even after Rutecki’s out-of-bounds call was overturned in favor of the Huskies.
It was a rough day for Waterbury’s Flowers, who entered the game as LIU’s leading scorer at 17.5 per game. Flowers, a 6-9 grad forward, finished with just four points on 2-for-9 shooting. He also fell for the oldest trick in the book, rushing up a shot as the home crowd counted down to zero, even though there were still several seconds left on the shot clock. Bristol Central 7-footer and UConn signee Donovan Clingan, who joined Hearst CT Media’s UConn Report podcast earlier in the week, was at the game. So was former Husky star Josh Boone.