Brent Pelella
Vs. UMass Lowell
With as little as 7:10 remaining in the first half, UConn trailed Division 2 UMass-Lowell 27-26. The River Hawks didn’t look intimidated early on and played effectively on both ends of the floor.
However, from that point on, the historically potent UConn Huskies came alive and dominated in every aspect of the game. They finished the first half on a 23-6 run, which gave them a 16-point halftime advantage.
The second half proved to be a more positive outlook on the potential that Kevin Ollie’s team could have. The most optimistic sign given in the final 20 minutes was the aggressive defense that held the UMass offense to 29 total points and created 12 of their own points off turnovers.
“UConn was sharp, quick long and confident.” Coach Greg Herenda said of the defensive performance.
Kevin Ollie also had a lot of positives to take from the game stating, “We played better, we were more relaxed, and we played harder. It wasn’t just in 12 minutes stints this time.”
As expected, most of the complete performance derived from the guard positions. Ryan Boatright took strides from the first game posting 22 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds with only 2 turnovers, “Boatright did a great job keeping us steady when Shabazz got in foul trouble.” Said Ollie.
Sophomore DeAndre Daniels provide 14 points and 15 rebounds, while freshman Omar Calhoun posted his second straight 20 point game shooting 5-6 from behind the arc. Juniors NielsGiffey and Tyler Olander also scored in double figures with 12 and 10 respectively.
UConn will travel to Germany and open their official season Friday against Michigan State on the Ramstein Air Base.
