DePaul Blue Demons vs Connecticut Huskies Match Player Stats On Dec 30, 2020

Playing its first game in 10 days, Connecticut needed 10 minutes to warm up before rolling DePaul 82-61 in Big East action Wednesday night in Storrs, Conn.

Rhode Island transfer Tyrese Martin led the Huskies (4-1, 1-1) with 22 points and 10 rebounds. James Bouknight, who entered the game tied for the No. 5 scorer in the nation at 24.0 points per game, added 20 points while Josh Carlton posted 11 points and 10 rebounds as UConn claimed its first Big East win since March 9, 2013.

Junior forward Darious Hall tied his career high with 14 points to pace DePaul (1-2, 0-2). Sophomore center Nick Ongenda added a career-high 13 points but Blue Demons head coach Dave Leitao, a Connecticut assistant for 14 years, never enjoyed the lead in his first game at UConn since leaving in 2002.

The teams took turns making Gampel Pavilion's rims groan over the first 10 minutes, but Connecticut put together an 8-1 run over 81 seconds to take a 20-11 lead with 8:26 left in the half.

Without Bouknight on the floor, R.J. Cole orchestrated the spree as he fed Jalen Gaffney for the game's first 3-pointer, drove to the hoop for a tough lefty runner and then drove again before kicking to Tyler Polley for another 3-pointer.

The Huskies extended their lead to 26-13 before DePaul briefly caught fire and reeled off 11 points in 1:27. Hall converted a 3-point play, Kobe Elvis swished the Blue Demons' first 3-pointer, Ongenda delivered another conventional 3-point play and Charlie Moore canned an acrobatic reverse layup on the break to slash UConn's margin to 31-24 with 3:44 to go.

UConn responded with the next 10 points -- capped by two textbook Carlton post moves for layups -- to restore its lead to 41-27 by the break.

DePaul never cut into that margin during the second half as UConn stayed hot until junk time. When Martin and Bouknight threw down emphatic jams on back-to-back possessions, they pushed the lead to 61-38 with 12:38 left. The Huskies led by as much as 26.

--Field Level Media