Another America East opponent, another halftime deficit.
After trailing 24-23 at the half, the No. 7 UConn men’s basketball team, in its first game since winning the Maui Invitational, used a better second half, led by junior captain Kemba Walker, to sneak past New Hampshire 62-55 before 8,558 at Gampel Pavilion.
Walker finished with a game-high 30 points, which put him two points shy of becoming the 45th Husky with 1,000 career points. Sophomore center Alex Oriakhi had seven points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes. The Huskies trailed Vermont 36-33 at the half on Thursday, but Walker’s 42 points carried them to a 89-73 blowout win. This time around, however, UConn (6-0) did just enough to win the game, causing disappointed looks on the players’ faces and a displeased coach Jim Calhoun.
“We certainly didn’t take a step forward by any stretch of the imagination, which is what I wanted this team to continue to do,” Calhoun said, noting that his team lacked focus and good body language throughout the game.
Calhoun said Walker bailed the team out again, and the teamwork that went on during Sunday’s good practice did not translate to the game.
“It’s getting to the point where there’s one guy outside and one guy inside consistently,” Calhoun said, referring to Walker and Oriakhi.
“We played terrible in the first half,” said freshman guard Shabazz Napier, who finished with 11 points. “We didn’t play Connecticut basketball. We didn’t play the way we played in Maui. We just showed how immature we are.”
New Hampshire outrebounded the Huskies 39-38, taking advantage of a listless UConn team on the boards. Oriakhi had three blocks and one rebound in the first half after two personal fouls limited him to eight minutes. Ferg Myrick led the Wildcats with 19 points. James Valladares added 12 and Dane Diliegro had 10 rebounds. The Wildcats played without leading scorer Alvin Abreu who is out with a torn ACL.
“I thought our kids really, really competed… I thought we were in a great spot at the half,” said UNH coach Bill Herrion.
UConn had 10 blocks in the first half and finished with 13 for the game. The Huskies were 8-for-26, 30.8 percent, shooting from the field in the first.
“Things weren’t going right for us,” Walker said. “As a team, we weren’t making any shots. It just wasn’t falling for us in the first half.
The Huskies outscored New Hampshire 39-31 in the second half and took the lead for good with 14:08 left. The Wildcats, 4-2, cut the lead to five with one minute left in the second half before Walker iced the game with four free throws in the final 60 seconds.
“I’m disappointed,” Calhoun said. “I’m not going to waste my time on yesterday, Maui. I will waste my time on today, tomorrow in practice.”
The Husky offense was stagnant through the contest’s first nine minutes. The Wildcats led 11-6 at the 12:30 mark. Myrick hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to eight points eight minutes into the half.
Coming out of a media timeout at the 11:21 mark, UConn looked like a different team. Roscoe Smith’s block sparked a Walker-led fast break. Walker was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws. With Donnell Beverly in, the defense pressed and forced a backcourt violation. Beverly fed a streaking Walker for the easy lay up and two possessions later found Walker again for a 3-pointer. After another Smith swat, Beverly took it himself, driving the lane and and finishing with a lay up to cut the Wildcat lead to two, 16-14, with nine minutes remaining.
New Hampshire, however, would go on a 5-3 run, and the Wildcats held the lead until Walker’s free throws with 40 seconds left in the half tied the game. Valladares hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, but Walker answered with a jump shot at the buzzer to cut the lead to one heading into halftime.
UConn has now won six in a row over UNH, and leads the all-time series 91-25.