Sanogo-ing up and up

Nov. 12—STORRS — Adama Sanogo turned in a strong performance to start his junior season for the UConn men's basketball team Monday.

The 6-foot-9 forward's encore Friday night was even better.

Sanogo recorded a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Huskies to an 86-57 win over Boston University before an announced crowd of 9,156 at Gampel Pavilion.

"Going into the game in practice, Coach came to me with a couple of guys who I need to step up to a little bit," Sanogo said. "So going into the game, I knew I needed to be there for the team. That's why at the beginning of the game, I didn't waste any time. I wanted to get in right in the beginning."

It's the 11th double-double of Sanogo's career. He finished 12-of-15 from the floor and added two assists, a block and a steal in the win.

"We challenged him," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. "This was not an easy thing for us to prepare for. ... If Adama doesn't play a game like that, especially to start, that's a much different type of game. He played like an All-American. That's what we're going to need from him, obviously until we get healthy, and then if we want to have the best version of a team that we've had since I've been here, then he's got to play like an All-American at both ends of the court."

The Huskies began the game on a 20-2 run, including scoring the first 11 points. Sanogo had nine of those points, including his first-career three-pointer to cap off the run.

But as proficient as its offense was, UConn's defense stifled Boston University from the opening tip. The Terriers missed their first 10 shots and had five turnovers before their first field goal: a turnaround jumper by Fletcher Tynen with 10:25 left in the half.

Hurley was particularly impressed with the defensive play of senior Nahiem Alleyne in the first half.

"He really accepted the challenge on Walter Whyte to start the game," Hurley said. "Obviously when we were up big, Whyte got some opportunities there. But in terms of tone-setting and playing like a winner and doing what needed to be done for us to win the game, he really took on that challenge defensively."

The Terriers went on a 9-4 run late in the first half to cut the score to 35-23 with 1:31 left, the closest it had been since the 13:49 mark. But Sanogo scored the final five points of the half, including his second three with 21.3 seconds left to give the Huskies a 17-point halftime lead.

Sanogo finished the half with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 11 rebounds.

"I coached in the Big East for six years. He's as good as any post player that we faced back in my day," Terriers coach Joe Jones said of Sanogo. "Now that he can make some jumpers, it makes him even harder to guard. What he did against us, I saw him do that against Big East players. He's a terrific player."

BU chipped away early in the second half, cutting the deficit to 53-41 with 13:08 to play. But the Huskies replied with a 15-2 run to push the lead to 25, its largest to that point. UConn's lead didn't dip below 19 again.

The Huskies finished 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) from three Friday. In the opener, they shot 20.8 percent (5-of 24).

"I thought we took better threes," Hurley said. "Obviously, we're comfortable shooting in here. We get in here a fair amount. Obviously, we had some issues at the free throw line. Might have been some fatigue with the way we were guarding them and harassing them ... I think that the free throw shooting was surprisingly bad. But we shoot well in here. We have to try really hard to lose in here."

UConn shot was 14-for-26 from the foul line Friday, including 6-of-14 in the first half.

Alleyne and Tristen Newton each added 11 points in the win while Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan had 10 apiece. Whyte's 19 points paced the Terriers while Daman Tate had 11.

UConn returns to action Tuesday when they host Buffalo (1-0) at the XL Center in Hartford. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network).

"Buffalo is really good. They've got tradition," Hurley said. "We had a war with them a couple of years ago. Obviously each game, the opponent is getting better for us. But if we can figure out just how to win these games and grow the roles of these transfers and get them some confidence and get Alex a ton of experience and confidence. When we do get healthy, that could put us in a position where we're better for it."

For coverage of UConn men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.