Field Level Media
Mar 3, 2021
Isaiah Whaley's 17 points led four UConn players in double figures Wednesday night as the Huskies won a big bubble battle, dumping Big East Conference rival Seton Hall 69-58 in Newark, N.J.
Freshman Adama Sanogo scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, one shy of Whaley's total, allowing the Huskies (13-6, 10-6 Big East) to control the boards 40-28. James Bouknight also added 16 points for UConn, and RJ Cole netted 14.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his last home game, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Pirates (13-11, 10-8) from dropping their third straight game and damaging their chances of an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Jared Rhoden added 16 points for Seton Hall, which connected on just 40 percent of its field-goal attempts and made only 5 of 19 3-point attempts.
Up by one at halftime, UConn opened the second half with six straight points, capping a stretch of 14 consecutive points that bridged the break. The surge lifted the Huskies to a seven-point lead and gave them the necessary cushion to keep the Pirates at arm's length.
Down the stretch, UConn used excellent foul shooting to seal the outcome. The Huskies went 13 of 14 in the second half, registering their last 11 points at the line.
Playing before fans at home for the first time this season -- about 1,700 were allowed into the Prudential Center -- Seton Hall came out with the bounce. The Pirates scored the first seven points, Rhoden capping the run with a 3-pointer.
UConn didn't get on the board until Mamukelashvili was hit with a technical foul at the 16:43 mark of the first half. The Huskies' first field goal didn't happen until Sanogo made a jumper with 15:46 left.
The Pirates led by nine on two different occasions, but the Huskies finally found traction just before the midway point of the half. They surged just before intermission, and they took a 27-26 edge when Whaley put back a missed shot with 3.6 seconds remaining.
--Field Level Media