The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Huskies’ bench delivered against St. John’s
NEW YORK — Joey Calcaterra was making 3-pointers and skipping back in transition, whooping it up with a crowd that was very much proUConn on this big-city afternoon — or simply seemed to be for the the performance of the visiting team and the lungs of its fans.
Doesn’t matter. UConn owned the building and owned the day, stomping St. John’s to the delight of at least a few thousand and rolling to a 95-86 victory, the course for which was set by its reserves.
Calcaterra, breaking free from a prolonged slump, was 4for-6 from the field for 15 points. Donovan Clingan had nine points, six rebounds (five offensive) and five blocks. Nahiem Alleyn added eight points.
Together over a combined 50 minutes, those players were 11for-19 from the field for 32 points, 26 of which helped UConn build a 50-41 halftime lead. It was was all over not long after it got started, really, a relatively easy day of work even though a physical and chippy game.
“Man, we’re like the best team in the country when our bench plays the way it played today,” starting guard Jordan Hawkins said.
Hawkins had 20 points, reaching that plateau for the seventh time in nine games. He has become, without question, a First-Team All-Big East guard. Adama Sanogo, the preseason conference player of the year, had 18 points and nine rebounds. Andre Jackson, having emerged from what felt like a mental corn maze in response to the unique way opponents defend him, was terrific with 15 points, tying a career high.
So the starters were fine. But the bench? Next level, particularly early on. There have been more productive days for the reserves — 47 points against LIU, 40 against Florida, for instance — but there have been no more important performances, given the late-February timing
and unforeseen circumstances.
Hassan Diarra was ruled out before the game with an abdominal injury, Jackson was a game-time decision due to flu-like symptoms and Clingan had a rough day all around. He had a tooth knocked out by a wayward ball in warm-ups and he walked away limping pretty significantly, after just five second-half minutes. He endured numerous shots to the lower body and a shin took the worst of it.
Still, Clingan showed once again that he is one half of UConn’s greatest asset. Clingan and Sanogo give the Huskies something at the center position that few, if any, teams in America have. They combined for 27 points and 15 rebounds Saturday, eating up Joel Soriano and other Red Storm frontcourt players.
“It’s devastating to the opponent,” coach Dan Hurley said. “As good as Soriano is, it’s such an imbalance. That’s the formula.”
None of the UConn reserves who entered had ever stepped onto the court at Madison Square Garden, the site for some of UConn’s most storied victories over the years. Yet they entered the Huskies’ 126th all-time game at the arena, dominated a portion of it and helped seal the final segment of this “revenge tour.”
UConn is rolling, having won six of seven. The Huskies have clicked off three victories in eight days over teams they lost to earlier in the season. Saturday’s victory avenged a puzzling home loss to St. John’s on Jan. 15. UConn is 22-7 overall, 11-7 in the Big East, with two regular season games remaining.
The team bussed out of Manhattan with reason to feel as satisfied and optimistic as at any point during this coming-fullcircle season. And when the Huskies return home in a couple of weeks for the Big East Tournament — yes, New York now feels like home to players as much as UConn’s train-cramming fans — it could be the kid in the front seat, the back seat or anywhere in between counted on to step onto the court and start pushing the Huskies deep into the postseason.
If Saturday is any indication, that is.
“It takes a big load off our starters,” said Calcaterra, who matched his UConn high in points. He also had 15 way back in November, against Buffalo, when the Huskies were just three games into a 14-0 start. He was 10for-44 from the field over the past 14 games after going 13-for-18 in a five-game November stretch.
“To come in here,” Calcaterra continued, “in a hostile environment — but it is Storrs South, as they say — it just feels good to come in and contribute on a stage like this.”
UConn got the type of bench production that was part of coach Dan Hurley’s blueprint when he began building this team 10 months ago. Welcome to New York, Nahiem, Donovan and Joey. Welcome back to a world where anything feels possible, UConn.
“It’s great to see Joey get going again,” Hurley said. “Hopefully this is a springboard for Joey to get a little bit of swagger back, some magic and mojo. We’re formidable, getting this bench going and getting these guys feeling good about themselves.”
Saturday was, as Hurley said, a precursor to the Big East Tournament, with its overlapping cheers and different displays of color. UConn chants often drowned out those of St. John’s as the Huskies built a 17-point lead.
When it was over, associate head coach Kimani Young, a New Yorker, said “Our town,” loudly and proudly while leaving the court through a tunnel. Hurley wore a shirt reading “Call Me Snake,” the famous Kurt Russell quote from the 1981 movie Escape from New York.
The whole day had a feel that bodes well for the future, and fit so well into what Hurley had said in the past. He needed players who would accept certain roles, limited roles, and thrive nonetheless. Each of the Huskies seem to have long embraced whatever opportunity has been afforded. They haven’t always thrived.
But a breakthrough with two games remaining in the regular season, two weeks before the most important projects begin in the very same building, came Saturday.
“That bench with Donovan and Joey,” Hurley said. “February resembles more like November or December. Every day, we’re further away from January.”
That was miserable month.
March could be a fun month.
“If the bench does that every time, we have a different team,” Sanogo said. “They have a great mindset now. The way they played today, I think they can keep playing like that.”