Carlton, Adams lead UConn in 91-66 rout of New Hampshire
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Josh Carlton and Jalen Adams each scored 17 points and UConn routed New Hampshire 91-66 on Saturday.
Christian Vital added his first double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebound for the Huskies (5-1).
Jordan Reed had 17 points for New Hampshire (2-4), which has not beaten a Division I program this season.
UConn lost in 2016 to Wagner and Northeastern and needed overtime last season to beat Columbia and Monmouth.
But the Huskies have won their four games this season against midmajors by an average of 20 points and took control of this one from the opening tip.
"We've done nothing the last couple of years and we've done nothing this season to warrant us overlooking anybody," said coach Dan Hurley.
Carlton dunked on the first possession of the game and UConn never trailed.
A 3-point play from Vital gave the Huskies their first double-digit lead at 18-8. Carlton (4 of 5), Jalen Adams (4-4) and Tyler Polley (5-6) combined to hit 13 of their 15 shots in the first half and UConn went into intermission up 48-29.
A spin move and double-pump layup by Alterique Gilbert made him the fifth UConn player to hit double figures. That highlighted an 11-2 run that put the Huskies up 73-48 and the Huskies led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
BIG PICTURE
New Hampshire: The Wildcats held the Huskies to just 4-of-16 shooting from 3-point range, but made just 8 of 30 from behind the arc. UNH had made 10 or more 3-pointers in each of the first three games and came into this game 50 of 130 from long range.
"Right now we don't have really anywhere to go around the basket," said coach Bill Herrion. "It's kind of how we have to play right now."
Jayden Martinez had 11 points and Elijah Jordan added 10 points for the Wildcats.
UConn: The Huskies have had at least four players in double figures in each of their first six games. Polley finished with 12 points and Gilbert had 11. Two other guards, Tarin Smith (seven points) and Brendan Adams (six points) added to a balanced attack that saw 11 players score.
"It's fun," said Vital. "Out backcourt is really tough. It's going to be hard to stop us when start playing even more consistent than we have in these past couple games."
TIP-INs
UConn dominated underneath, outscoring the Wildcats 54-24 in the paint and outrebounding UNH 50-33. The Huskies also outscored UNH 16-5 on the fast break and had 19 second-chance points.
WILSON DEBUT
Hurley announced that forward Sid Wilson will be eligible to play for the Huskies on Tuesday. Wilson, who sat out last season after transferring from St. John's, was suspended before the start of this season for an unspecified violation of university policy that took place last year.
UP NEXT
New Hampshire: The Wildcats host Boston University on Wednesday night.
UConn: The Huskies return to campus to play their third of five straight home games on Tuesday against UMass Lowell.
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