The Le Moyne men’s basketball team lost to The University of Connecticut 90-49 on Wednesday. Despite a shaky start by #3 ranked UConn, they dominated in the second half and easily earned their third win of the season.
Le Moyne looked like they we’re headed for another tightly fought battle with a Power 6 program early in the match. Junior Dwayne Koroma scored the first points for Le Moyne to tie it at two. He scored 9 of his team high 13 points in the first.
A layup by Juinor Zek Tekin would give Le Moyne a 7-4 lead over UConn at the 17:18 mark. UConn regained the lead shortly after, but the score remained close throughout much of the first half. A three pointer by Junior Trent Mosquera made it a 16-19 game with 7:28 remaining.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first. Le Moyne started 1-8 from three point range, while UConn missed their first nine attempts from deep.
UConn’s scoring struggles allowed Le Moyne to keep the game close, but they were unable to capitalize on the offensive end. UConn started to heat up following the Mosquera three pointer, as they scored 10 unanswered points to put them up 13 with 3:22 remaining. UConn closed out the half on an impressive 19-3 run, taking a 38-19 lead into the second.
UConn never looked back after their dominating end to the first. They connected on four of five three point attempts to open the second half, capped off by a three from Sophomore Solo Ball that gave them a 25 point advantage over Le Moyne.
The Huskies sunk 9 of 18 three point shots in the second half, a vast improvement over their 3-15 clip from three in the first. Junior Alex Karaban hit two of UConn’s long range shot’s in the second. His 17 points were a game high.
Le Moyne was never able to mount a comeback. A Liam McNeeley layup gave UConn a 30 point lead with over 12 minutes remaining in the contest, and the lead only continued to build. A dunk by Sophomore Jayden Ross with 21 seconds left capped off the contest, giving UConn a commanding 41 point victory.
Following the loss to the back-to-back NCAA champions, Le Moyne now sits at 1-3 on the season. Their next contest is at St. Bonaventure at 4:00 pm Saturday.
