Preseason All-Big East star Braylon Mullins scored a game-high 20 points as UConn rolled to an 86-46 win over Gardner-Webb in both teams’ season opener Monday night in Hartford, Conn.
Mullins knocked down four 3-pointers to lead UConn, which shot 51.7% from the field and had a 21-3 advantage in fastbreak points and a 46-28 rebounding edge.
Duke transfer Nik Khamenia had 14 points and six rebounds, Na’jai Hines recorded 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and freshman Colben Landrew added 11 points.
Jacob Hudson led Gardner-Webb with nine points. Jackson Skipper had eight points and five rebounds, and Seth Brown also logged eight points.
Khamenia’s turnaround shot in the paint and a Jayden Ross offensive rebound and put-back got the scoring started as four starters helped UConn jump out to an 8-0 lead. The Runnin’ Bulldogs went without a field goal until a Rue Wells bucket at the 15:38 mark.
Mullins’ transition dunk and 3-pointer helped the Huskies during a 9-2 run that preceded an 11-point spurt, opening the margin to 21 with 7:16 left in the first half. Landrew and Junior County closed that stretch with back-to-back triples for a 29-8 edge.
After Skipper knocked in Gardner-Webb’s first trey with 5:37 left before halftime, UConn rattled off another six points in a row, including a step-back trey from Khamenia.
The Huskies went 11 of 14 from the free-throw line in the first half, with Silas Demary Jr. downing a pair before a fastbreak layup in the closing minutes. UConn led 43-24 at halftime.
Brown hit a corner 3-pointer to start Gardner-Webb out of the intermission, but UConn immediately responded with a 10-0 run that included Mullins feeding Jayden Ross for an alley-oop dunk and hitting a pair of threes before the under-16 timeout.
Oskar Giltay’s block led to a Mullins dunk before Landrew made a transition layup to give the Huskies another pair of back-to-back baskets for a 57-29 advantage with 14:10 left in regulation.
The UConn lead eclipsed 30 for the first time with 9:01 to play after a Khamenia 3-pointer and a Ross fastbreak finish. Minutes later, Hines sank consecutive baskets and Mullins added another trey from the wing.
David Gaymon’s triple helped the Runnin’ Bulldogs on a late 5-0 run, but the UConn lead reached 40 after an Egor Amosov dunk in the final minute.