Redshirt senior guard Rodney Purvis dribbles past a Northeastern defender during the Huskies’ loss on Monday, Nov. 14, 2016 at Gampel Pavilion. Purvis had 23 points in UConn’s win over Chaminade in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Tuesday. (Jackson Haigis/The Daily Campus)
It may not have been authoritative, but the UConn men’s basketball team added another tick mark in the win column with a 93-82 win over Division II Chaminade.
Once again, it was all about Jalen Adams. Less than 24 hours removed from a 34-point night, he stole the show again for the Huskies with 25 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds—just one shy of a triple-double. With both Terry Larrier and Alterique Gilbert out for at least the rest of the tournament, Adams has stepped up in a big way, driving to the basket with authority, netting fadeaway jumpers and even draining the occasion 3-pointer.
It was an incredibly back-and-forth game throughout the first half, and even though there were only two real lead changes, both teams found themselves tied six different times throughout the half. After UConn went up 2-0 on the first basket of the game, they would not reclaim the lead until 9:25 from an Adams and-one. UConn’s lead was as much as seven, but a couple of big 3-pointers from the Silverswords knotted the game back up at 45 at the conclusion of the half.
The second half started out the exact same, with neither team taking more than a 3-point lead until UConn began to pull away with 10 minutes to go. Rodney Purvis very much kept UConn in the game, scoring 20 of his season-high 23 points in the second half alone. Chaminade came within five points with just under four minutes to go, but back-to-back threes form Purvis ballooned UConn’s lead to 11, effectively sealing the win for the Huskies.
Despite Adams’ standout performances these last two games and Purvis’s contributions, it simply hasn’t been enough to give UConn any commanding leads due to the team’s collective defensive performance. It seems almost impossible for the Huskies to get a stop after a momentum shift, often allowing the opponent to take a wide-open three or cut through their defense in the paint with ease.
Opponent’s 3-point shooting is becoming a serious problem for UConn. They outshot UConn 51-26 percent behind the arc, and teams have beat them 40-34 percent from three all season. With the Huskies having no real 3-point shooter, it was a good sign that Purvis began to heat up. He went 4-for-9 from three, with all four of them coming in the final five minutes of the game.
UConn is set to take on No. 13 Oregon in the final round of the consolation bracket. Much like the Huskies, the Ducks have been struggling to start out the season, barely scraping by Tennessee with a 69-65 overtime victory to improve their record to 3-2. Tipoff is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Stephanie Sheehan is the associate managing editor for The Daily Campus, covering men’s basketball. She can be reached via email at stephanie.sheehan@uconn.edu. She tweets @steph_sheehan.
