It must be heartening for UConn fans to know that even when head coach Dan Hurley says the team played “below brand,” the Huskies can still win a game by almost 40 points.
The 92-53 final score doesn’t show it, but UConn had to scrap and claw its way to providing distance early from visiting New Hampshire on Saturday night in Hartford. It’s the second year in a row that the Wildcats were able to frustrate the Huskies, and for the second year in a row, UConn should come out better for it.
With the Huskies’ shooting taking that patented XL Center dip, they struggled to score in the first half. Credit to New Hampshire as well; the Wildcats’ on-ball defense was excellent, and they kept much better athletes in front of them.
UConn held serve defensively, showing the unity needed on the court to provide near flawless help. 1-on-1, Hurley was less pleased.
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“That was clearly a below-standard performance for us in a number of ways, in particular on-ball defense,” Hurley told reporters after the game. “Offensively, I thought we were just scatterbrained, especially in the first half. It was typical of an early season performance.”
While the Huskies did enough to go to the locker room up 11, perhaps the team’s biggest flaw was also on display. Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. were responsible for the first four UConn fouls of the game, putting Hurley in a bind before the 10-minute mark. Jaylin Stewart, the de facto five in their absence, picked up the next two.
But the Huskies weathered it. More importantly, both UConn bigs were smarter and better in the second half. Johnson committed another late in the first, but didn’t foul again until 8:55 remaining in the game, ending the contest with four fouls, two points and one rebound. He now has nine fouls this season in 27 minutes played.
“I think he’s such a great guy and he wants to do well so badly that he’s pressing and he’s fighting for every inch and he’s playing with a level of desperation that’s admirable,” Hurley said. “But in playing with that level of desperation, he’s mauling people.”
Johnson’s subpar performance meant there was more pressure on Reed, and he posted an 11-and-8 stat line typical of his career so far.
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The Huskies clung to a 10-point lead with 16:17 remaining in the game before UConn embarked on a 9-2 run, punctuated by a three from Jayden Ross.
Ross, who was a seldom-used freshman last year and had Hurley hyping him up in the preseason like he could be a lottery pick, delivered in his sophomore debut. After missing the season opener against Sacred Heart, Ross turned it on in the final 15 minutes, showing fans why Hurley said after the first game that he could have started.
“You saw the flurry,” Hurley said. “He’s a guy that I think is gonna be get a lot better.”
Ross shot 6-10 from the field (2-5 3PT) to finish with 14 points. He was also a team-best +34.
Also of note: Alex Karaban turned in his second straight All-American caliber performance. This time, it was 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. Filed under the “small sample size” category, it means Karaban is averaging 5.5 blocks per game, third-best in college basketball this season.
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“Alex is playing the way a Big East Player of the Year is supposed to be playing,” Hurley added. “From a statistical standpoint, efficiency standpoint, but he’s also really leading. He’s been super vocal and doing everything we want him to do right now.”
Liam McNeeley turned in his second-straight double-double as well, posting 11 points and 10 rebounds in the second game of his career. He became the first Husky since Jeff Adrien in 2006 to open the season with consecutive double-doubles.
By the end of the game, the team-wide numbers didn’t look so bad either. They shot better than 50% from the field (32-63) and while 32% from three isn’t great, they were 7-15 in the second half.
The Huskies return to the court on Wednesday when they host Le Moyne, Division I’s best team that’s based in Syracuse, New York. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. and it will air on FS1.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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