Jordan Hawkins scored 26 points and Adama Sanogo added 20 as No. 8 UConn defeated Oklahoma State 74-64 on Thursday night in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game in Storrs, Conn.
The Huskies (9-0) have now won their first nine games for the first time since the 2013-14 season, which eventually resulted in the fourth national championship in program history.
Hawkins did most of his scoring from long range, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers. Sanogo went 7-for-14 from the floor and hauled in six rebounds, and Andre Jackson Jr. supplied 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Kalib Boone finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma State (5-3), while Avery Anderson III contributed 14 points. OSU’s 17 turnovers led to 27 Huskies points, and the Cowboys also went just 4 of 11 from beyond the arc.
After trailing by as many as 20, Oklahoma State fought back with an 8-0 surge headlined by Anderson’s six points to pull within 56-45 with under 10 minutes to play.
However, a pair of free throws from Sanogo and treys from Jackson and Joey Calcaterra pushed UConn’s advantage back up to 19, and Oklahoma State never seriously threatened after that.
A colossal 23-3 run over the final 7:06 of the first half sent the Huskies into the break with a 17-point advantage.
Hawkins led all scorers through the first 20 minutes with 18 points, while Sanogo added 13. No Cowboy scored in double figures, but Boone had seven points. Turnovers killed the visitors before halftime, as they committed 10.
Oklahoma State’s top shot blocker found himself in foul trouble early, as Moussa Cisse was forced to go to the bench with two personals just over two minutes into the game. That allowed Sanogo to take over, and he scored as many points as the Cowboys (10) through the first seven minutes of action to stake UConn to a 17-10 lead.
Boone converted a three-point play and Caleb Asberry hit a 3-pointer as part of an 8-1 run that Oklahoma State used to get back into contention and tie things at 18.
–Field Level Media
