11/24/2023 basketball Edit

UConn Hoops: Newton's Triple Double powers Huskies to win

Stratton Stave • UConnReport

Staff Writer

Before Friday, the all-time leader for triple doubles in UConn history was Ray Allen, one of the greatest Huskies of all time. With Allen in the building, that record was broken by Tristen Newton, who continues to etch himself into Connecticut’s record books.

The Huskies hosted Manhattan at the XL Center in downtown Hartford, a venue that Jaspers–and former UHart–coach John Gallagher is very familiar with. Though Manhattan put up a fight early, they were no match for UConn, who pulled out with a 90-60 victory, headlined by Newton’s stellar day.

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The El Paso native made magic happen again in Hartford, recording his third triple double as a Husky, all coming at XL. He notched eight dimes before he recorded his second field goal, helping his teammates out early. He then transitioned into a scoring mindset, going 3-5 from deep and making all four of his free throws.

With two boards to go until he completed the triple double, Connecticut gave up a few shots they wouldn’t have otherwise, but Newton was doing his best to get into position to rebound. He ultimately finished it and was promptly removed, receiving a standing ovation for his feat.

Cam Spencer also continued his great scoring run, tallying 18 points on 10 shots. He missed none of his four tries from downtown, now over 50% on the season. Spencer has delivered on every single expectation that fans have had for him and continues to play a prominent role in filling in for the shooting departures of Jordan Hawkins and Joey Calcaterra.

Samson Johnson and Donovan Clingan each impressed in their own right too, flip-flopping solid games. Friday was Clingan’s turn, shooting 7-11 en route to 17 points and four boards. He made all of his free throws, just the third time he’s done that in his career. What Clingan lacked in flare, Johnson made up for, scoring his four points both on exciting transition dunks. The pair is functioning as well as Adama Sanogo and Clingan did last year and will likely continue to roll.

The team’s second to last buy-game will come this Monday when they play New Hampshire. The last time the teams met, UConn won by 26 behind a big performance from Alterique Gilbert.