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  • No. 8 UConn Still Undefeated After the Huskies Shoot Down the OSU Cowboys, 74-64

No. 8 UConn Still Undefeated After the Huskies Shoot Down the OSU Cowboys, 74-64

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Basketball

When the UConn men's basketball team took on Iowa State last Sunday in its final game of the PKI in Oregon, team mainstays Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo struggled with foul trouble and had to rely on teammates to pick up the slack in order to get the victory.

Thursday, in the Huskies first game back at home, they returned the favor.

Hawkins and Sanogo combined for 46 points to lead the No. 8 Huskies (9-0) to a 74-64 win over Oklahoma State (5-3) in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle before a sold-out crowd (10,167) at Gampel Pavilion.

Hawkins, who had a career-high 26 points, wasted no time getting back on track, pouring in 18 in the first half, including four 3-pointers as the Huskies broke away from a 28-25 deficit with 7:26 remaining and finished the half on a 23-3 explosion. Oklahoma State never recovered from UConn's 48-31 halftime advantage.

"I was thrilled with the way we handled the last half of the first half," UConn Coach Dan Hurley said. "Our spurt-ability was on display – with the shooting. We were not good defensively. But it feels really good to beat a team that is an NCAA caliber team, especially after our (log) trip (from Portland)."

Oklahoma State did not allow the Huskies to coast in the second half, however. The Cowboys closed the gap to 56-45 with 13:00 remaining and threatened to make it closer, but three-pointers by Andre Jackson and Joey Calcaterra stopped the threat.

The Cowboys did finally cut the lead to 10, 71-61, but with just 0:57 left in the game. OSU was led by Kalib Boone's 15 points and Avery Anderson's 14.

Besides Hawkins' 26 points and the 20 from Sanogo, Jackson was the only other double-figure scorer with 11.

"Some of our other guys who have really been giving us quality production just had a game where they did not make shots," Hurley said. "But our big three did what they needed to do for this game tonight, which was carry us offensively."

UConn, off to the best start since the 2013-14 team began 9-0, will next play its first true road game when it travels to Gainesville, Fla., on Wednesday to play the University of Florida.