There were two separate storylines at last night’s game between the UConn men’s basketball team (8-2) and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (0-10). There was the game itself, which the Huskies won handily, with a final score of 84-50.
But the most present and most visible story was that of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown on Friday, which took the lives of 20 children and six adults.
About 10 minutes before the game, players, as well as cheerleaders, dance team and pep band members holding 26 candles to represent the number of people killed, formed a circle around the Husky logo at center court for a moment of silence.
A green patch with the letters “SH” in white appeared on the right side of each player’s jersey last night. The patches will remain all season. Coaches wore green and white ribbons – representing Sandy Hook Elementary School’s colors – on their jackets.
On an individual level, Coach Kevin Ollie allowed the players to show their support in whatever way they chose. Shabazz Napier wore a T-shirt during warm-ups that read “Sandy Hook 26,” and wrote “SH” and “26” on his socks. Enoch Wolf had “Sandy Hook” written on one shoe and “Be Blessed” on the other. Most noticeably, Ryan Boatright had “SH” written on his left cheek. Boatright said he wanted his tribute to be where people could see it. Even UMES guard Louis Bell payed tribute to Sandy Hook, with “S.H.E.S. Newtown, CT” and “12-14-12” written on the back of his shoes.
Rebounding Woes Continue, But Shooting is a Bright Spot
For the ninth time in ten games, the Huskies were out-rebounded, losing the battle on the boards 30-26. Enoch Wolf got his second start in a row, but neither he nor Olander were able to make much headway on the boards. Olander got no rebounds in 12 minutes, while Wolf managed only four – the same number as guard Boatright – in 13 minutes. The Huskies managed only 3 offensive rebounds on the night.
“We do gotta clean up the rebounding issue,” Coach Ollie said. “We need to do it by five. It can’t just be our bigs; it’s got to be our guards. It’s got to be everybody rebounding as a collective group.”
The offense, however, looked as good as its looked all year. The Huskies shot an impressive 66 percent from the floor for the game. Omar Calhoun lead the team with his season-high 22 points. Boatright had 21 points, and a career-high five three-pointers, going 5-6 on the game.
Coach Ollie said Boatright has been spending extra time with Coach Hobbs and by himself in the gym working on what the team calls BDs – basketball development.
“I was mad at myself for the percentage I’ve been shooting all year,” Boatright said of what prompted his extra work. “It’s paying off.”
The defense was sluggish in the first half, with the Huskies giving up easy shots, and the Hawks shooting 46 percent from the floor. Things improved considerably in the second half, as the Huskies forced the Hawks to run down their shot clock, resulting in multiple shot-clock violations and ugly shots. UMES field goal percentage dropped to 38.5 percent on the game.
“I wanted us to play a little bit better in the first half, but we turned it up the second half,” Coach Ollie said after the game. “I guess my half-time speech worked a little bit.”
The Huskies went into the half leading 39-27. But in the second half the Huskies went on a 15-0 run that culminated in a steal and a monster dunk by Boatright, putting UConn up 65-33 with under 12 minutes remaining.
Notes:
- Hawks star Kyree Jones was out last night with a recurrence of a back injury that had previously required surgery. Bell lead UMES with 12 points.
- Walk-on-turned-scholarship player Brendan Allen saw his first playing time last night, getting in the game for three minutes. Coach Ollie had Calhoun foul UMES with under a minute to play so walk-ons Pat Lenehan, Trey James, Dave Vandal and Tor Watts could get on the court. James had an assist on Phil Nolan’s dunk to close the game.
- R.J. Evans, who was out with a shoulder injury, suited up for the game, but did not play. The injury was apparently still bothering him, but Ollie said Evans was availble if they needed him.
- UMES, which attempts an average of 22 three-point shots per game, took only one in the first half.
- The Hawks only lead of the night came when they went up 2-0 with 18:10 left in the first half. Fifteen seconds later Calhoun hit his first three, putting the Huskies up 3-2, and they lead for the rest of the game.
- UConn’s free throw shooting, which had been a strong point in previous games, was noticeable off last night. They made only 57 percent of their free throws, going 8-14 on the night.
- On Monday, the university announced that it would be starting a scholarship for victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy. Any student who currently attends the school, as well as the siblings and dependents of the victims will receive financial aid if they are accepted to UConn when the time comes to apply. UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma and his wife, Kathy, made an $80,000 donation to start the fund. “Over this past difficult weekend, Kathy and I gave much consideration to what we as a family could do that would have some significance for the future,” he said in a statement released by the university. “Because UConn is so important to us, we decided to establish a scholarship and encourage other UConn alumni and fans around the world to invest in the future of the Sandy Hook survivors.”
Up Next
- The Huskies face off against Fordham on Friday at 7 p.m. at the XL Center.
