Notes & Quotes: UConn Over Lafayette
HARTFORD – If this was supposed to be one of those dreaded trap games. UConn was not about to get caught in it.
Following Sunday’s home loss to Arizona, the Huskies bounced back by blowing out Lafayette 90-63 in front of 6,928 fans Wednesday at the XL Center. Now it’s on to a showdown with nationally ranked Florida State on Saturday in Newark.
“I’m happy with the response,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. “I thought overall, obviously I can nitpick a number of areas …
“It was just good to bounce back, it was a disappointing loss on Sunday and I thought we responded by playing real hard today.”
Tyler Polley scored a career-high 16 points for UConn (7-2), which never trailed. Jalen Adams led the way with 21 points, Christian Vital added 14, Josh Carlton 11 and Brendan Adams had a career-high 11. Alterique Gilbert finished with a career-high 11 assists and no turnovers in 22 minutes.
It was the fourth time in the last five games that the Huskies have scored 90-plus points.
Paulius Zalys scored 13 points and Sean Good added 11 for Lafayette (2-5), which has dropped three straight.
WHAT WENT WELL
Settling In: The Huskies shook off the Arizona loss rather fast, racing out to an 8-0 lead and growing the lead throughout. It wasn’t always pretty, but it’s the type of win this team should have against a mid-major going into Saturday’s test with Florida State. After practicing in XL yesterday, UConn came out and shot 50 percent (18-for-36) in the first half and 45.9 percent (34-for-74) for the game. That included going 12-for-28 on 3-pointers.
Hurley: “It helped that Arizona length and athletes weren’t closing out, but it’s the more you get into an arena and on the rim, you get adjusted to the background. … The quality of shots were better too and that helped.”
Polley: “I think (practicing at XL) helped us a lot.”
Gilbert: “It was very important for us because we want to get a lot of momentum going into this weekend. It’s a big game for us and we’re going to try to capitalize on it.”
Polley Emergence Continues: Clearly in Hurley’s circle of trust, the sophomore continues to impress when he’s on the court. Polley made 4 of 7 three-pointers and posted his fourth double-scoring game of the season. Last year he averaged just 2.7 ppg but has almost quadrupled that this season at 9.6 ppg.
Hurley: “It was great to see Tyler have a game like that and continue to mature as a player. … It’s all confidence with him. He’s a young guy and there’s a lot of development that needs to go on there, just with him physically. But he’s got that length and you just can’t recruit enough guys with size, length that shot the ball the way it leaves his hand. He’s a big investment guy for us and we are going to need that.”
Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon: “We knew he was one of (their good shooters). One of my freshmen here talked about him and knows him and said he’s a terrific shooter. It wasn’t like we didn’t know …and he was very comfortable, but sometimes we don’t have the length to bother that shooter.”
Polley: “I just give the credit to my coaches and teammates – they give me so much confidence. And when I play with confidence you see what happens.”
Generous Servings: Gilbert struggled from the field again, but he found other ways to contribute – primarily setting up his teammates. First, he shared the wealth, picking up seven of his career-high 11 assists in the first half. The 6-foot guard also was a force on the glass with five rebounds and had three steals. He opened the second half with a steal and easy layup for his first points.
Hurley: “I thought Al was great today. I thought he was an incredible playmaker. Al was the difference for us in terms of pace and the play making. … He has to cut himself a big break. You can’t miss almost three years of basketball. … He’s eventually going to get back to the level of a guy that he was and be even better because he’s mature. It’s just going to take him time.”
Gilbert: “I just think it’s all about pace. Each and every game is good for me, just to be out there and play is enough for me. As you guys know the past two years have been tough on me dealing with injuries.”
Polley: “When Alterique is playing like that we are hard to beat. He was doing a great job just getting in the paint and finding us, and we just hit open shots.”
Defense, Actually: If not for the Leopards’ bench contributing 20 points in the first half, it was a rough showing from Lafayette. The starting five managed a combined nine points and the team shot 25.8 percent from the field (8-for-31). They shot 37.1 percent for the game, but the starters just managed 19 points. UConn scored 31 points off 17 turnovers.
Hurley: “I thought we guarded real hard. They are not an easy team to guard. Coach is one of the best in terms of schemes and one of the hardest teams to play against.”
WATCH POST-GAME VIDEO OF DAN HURLEY, JALEN ADAMS, AND MORE HERE!
WHAT NEEDS WORK
Filling the XL: After having the old shopping mall rocking against the Wildcats, the Huskies played to a sparse house. More wins and better play should change that down the road.
MISC. NOTES
Tarin Smith lost a tooth in the first half, which briefly delayed the game as trainer James Doran went out to retrieve it. “He’s from Jersey, he’s tough, he played for Bob Sr,” Hurley said. “He’ll probably play with a mouthpiece Saturday.” … UConn is 4-0 lifetime against the Leopards. … The Huskies are averaging 86 ppg after scoring just 68.2 ppg a year ago. … Kwintin Williams was with the team. Williams caused a stir among UConn fans on Sunday after a twitter message was posted by him. “I love basketball so much,” Williams wrote. “These past two years have been a real reality check for me. I appreciate everyone in my life who has been a 100 percent honest with me about my talent level and where I’ll end up career wise.” Hurley said after the game that Williams was not leaving the team. “We’ve talked to him about being positive and working hard and stay with the program.” … After having 21 scouts at the Arizona game, only one was credentialed for Lafayette. … Isaiah Whaley return to action after not playing in the Arizona game.
UP NEXT
Saturday, vs. No. 11 Florida State in Newark, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)