STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Adama Sanogo had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and No. 24 UConn beat Seton Hall 70-65 Wednesday night.
It was the sixth double-double of the season for Sanogo, the Huskies’ sophomore center. Tyrese Martin had 16 points and 10 rebounds for UConn (18-7, 9-5 Big East), while R.J. Cole added 16 points.
Seton Hall (15-9, 6-8) had won three of its last four games. Kadary Richmond, who had 27 points in the teams' first meeting in early January, had 13 points. Jamir Harris added 15 points, Jared Rhoden had 14 points and Myles Cale scored 11 for the Pirates.
UConn missed its nine of first 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the opening half. But Cole, Martin, and Isaiah Whaley each made 3s as UConn went on an 11-4 run to begin the half and take an eight-point lead.
Seton Hall got within three points at the 11-minute mark of the second half, but a pair of drives to the basket by Cole were part of a 6-0 UConn run that put it ahead 53-44 with 8:43 to play. The Pirates would get no closer than six points for the rest of the game.
Thanks in part to a UConn defense that had three early blocks, Seton Hall missed 10 of its first 11 shots in the game.
UConn had a 28-27 lead at halftime, with Sanogo accounting for 12 points and nine rebounds.
UConn is 15-1 when leading at the half this season. Its only loss was Jan. 8 when Seton Hall won 90-87 in overtime — a game the visiting Huskies led 41-37 at the break.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
UConn has been at No. 24 in the AP rankings for each of the last two weeks. Another win this weekend should bump the Huskies up a bit next week.
BIG PICTURE
Seton Hall: Point guard Bryce Aiken missed his eighth game in a row after suffering a concussion. The Pirates are 4-3 without him.
UConn: Forward Akok Akok missed his fifth game in a row with a foot injury. Coach Dan Hurley said the junior could miss another week of action.
UP NEXT
Seton Hall: Host DePaul on Saturday.
UConn: Host Xavier on Saturday.
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