In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, the UConn men’s basketball team (3-0) dominated Le Moyne (1-3) for most of the game, with star forward Alex Karaban leading the way with 17 points. Even though he didn’t have a Hasheem Thabeet-like performance, the Southborough, Mass. native excelled offensively, shooting 7-11 from the field.
“[Karaban] played on the biggest stages of college basketball, and was a back-to-back champion,” Head Coach Dan Hurley said to the media following the game Wednesday night. “He’s one of the most accomplished players in recent history in college basketball and he’s a potential All-American. He’s got a chance to stake a claim as having maybe the greatest career of anyone that’s ever played at UConn.”
UConn began the game with Saint Mary’s transfer Aidan Mahaney putting his own missed shot back up and in for the first points of the game, leaving the XL Center crowd standing and clapping for only 30 seconds.
Throughout the game, especially the first half, Mahaney seemed due for his breakout game as a Husky, with many good looks but always seeming to rattle in and out.
On Tuesday, Hurley called Le Moyne the best offense they have faced so far, despite it being the third game of the season. The Dolphins barely lost to crosstown rival Syracuse on opening night. Le Moyne lived up to Hurley’s expectations to begin the game, hitting three of their first five shots.
“They’re a sneaky hard team to guard,” Hurley said following the game on Wednesday night. “They run a lot of different things, and they got really good offensive players.”
The Huskies had their best defensive performance of its first three games, deflating the Dolphins’ offense, which went on scoring droughts numerous times during the first half. However, neither team could break the lid for a portion of the half, with both teams going a combined 0-16 from the floor before veteran guard Hassan Diarra put his head down and got the basket plus the foul to break the drought.
UConn Men’s Basketball plays LeMoyne in Hartford, Conn. On Nov. 13, 2024. The huskies played hard to show their fans what this season will hold. Photo by Sydney Chandler/The Daily Campus
The first two games included foul trouble from UConn’s two premier big men: Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. However, the duo did a better job staying out of foul trouble on Wednesday night. The fouling problem looked like it was going to continue with Johnson picking up his first early in the game. However, Hurley adjusted from the first two games, taking the Lome, Togo native out and bringing in Reed Jr., the transfer from Michigan.
Hurley attributed Johnson’s staying out of foul trouble to settling in and conversations with the coaching staff.
“That tandem is going to give us enough quality to be able to have enough at center to accomplish our goals this year,” Hurley said on Johnson and Reed Jr.
The Huskies struggled from three-point range in Saturday night’s win over New Hampshire, and that seemed to continue against Le Moyne, beginning the game 0-9 from deep before five-star freshman Liam McNeeley drilled the team’s first with 7:53 to play in the first half. The Richardson, Texas native matched his career-high with three shots made from beyond the arc, all in the first half.
UConn went on a 13-3 run, scoring the game’s last 10 points heading into the final TV timeout. However, Johnson committed his second foul to quiet the electric crowd.
In the final seconds of the first half, Diarra found sophomore Jaylin Stewart for a teardrop to end the half with a 38-19 lead.
“I think you’re going to see [Stewart’s] improvement,” Hurley said. “Those 15 minutes are going to elevate.”
Connecticut was a more efficient team in the second half, making 50% of their shots. Reed Jr. had a hand in the effort, scoring nine of his 12 points in the second half and grabbing eight rebounds overall.
“[Reed Jr.] has big upside,” Hurley said. “I think he had probably two finishes at the rim that should have been three-point plays that became two free throws.”
Despite fouling out and missing an easy fastbreak layup, sophomore guard Solo Ball took over in the second half, scoring all 12 of his points. He led the Huskies on a 7-0 run six minutes into the second half with a 3-pointer followed by a fastbreak dunk.
“[Ball] had a slow first half, got into some foul trouble,” Diarra said. “Second half, he had a different approach with his mindset. I think he ran off eight straight points, and that just shows how [Ball] is a microwave. I mean, just such a good player. He’s a spark, he scores in bunches. So, he did a great job today.”
UConn’s defense was relentless from start to finish, with Le Moyne ending the game on a scoring drought for the final 2:21.
UConn has one more tune-up game before heading out west to the Aloha State for the Maui Invitational, a tournament they won in 2006 and 2010. They will have nearly a week off before hosting East Texas A&M (formerly Texas A&M-Commerce) on Tuesday at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on campus.