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Sanogo powers No. 4 UConn past Creighton

adam betz, journal inquirer, manchester, conn.
·4 min read

Jan. 7—STORRS — Like he has time and time again this season, Adama Sanogo came up big for the UConn men's basketball team Saturday afternoon.

The 6-foot-9 junior forward finished with a game-high 26 points as the fourth-ranked Huskies topped Creighton 69-60 in Big East play before an announced sellout crowd of 10,167 at Gampel Pavilion.

It's the first time the Huskies (15-2, 4-2 Big East) have beaten Creighton in program history.

"Coming off the Providence game where I didn't play well, I knew I had to be there tonight for my team," Sanogo said. "I knew for us to win today, I had to play hard. So coming in, I wanted to give everything I've got today."

With his team ahead by eight, Jordan Hawkins opened the second half by making three free throws to extend UConn's lead to 40-29.

The Bluejays (9-7, 3-2) responded with a 14-2 run, including seven straight points, to take a 43-42 lead.

A jumper by Trey Alexander with 13:47 to play capped the run and gave the visitors their first lead since it was 19-18.

But the Huskies rallied, embarking on a 17-4 run, including eight straight UConn points from Sanogo, over the next 6:26 to regain the lead.

A third-chance effort by Alex Karaban and a converted and-one play by Bristol native Donovan Clingan also highlighted the run.

"Our defense has slipped, and when it slipped we lost," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. "What makes teams special is when they're super efficient at both ends of the court. When our defense is on point and we do what we're supposed to do on the backboard, which again has been an issue, we have a number of people that can compete on the offensive end."

During a 7:23 stretch in the second half, Creighton missed 15 consecutive shots. A dunk by Ryan Kalkbrenner with 4:09 to play ended the drought and cut the deficit to 59-53.

Creighton was 4-for-24 from the floor over the final 14:44 of the game.

A turnaround bucket from Sanogo pushed the lead to 61-53 with 3:41 to play. The lead never dipped below eight the rest of the way.

"They have a really good basketball team, and there's not a lot of holes in what they're doing on either end of the floor," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "So to come in here in this environment, you have to play relatively perfect. And we did not play perfect."

Sanogo finished 10-for-20 from the floor and added nine rebounds and a block while Hawkins had 17 points, two steals and two blocks. Tristen Newton added 13 points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Arthur Kaluma recorded a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds for Creighton. Ryan Nembhard added 12 points while Alexander and Baylor Scheierman each had 11.

Kalkbrenner finished with nine points, four rebounds and four blocks.

In a back and forth first half, the Huskies gained the early edge when Sanogo hit a three-pointer to put his team ahead 9-6. He finished 2-for-5 from deep Saturday.

The Bluejays responded, taking a 15-11 advantage with 13:18 left in the first half on Kalkbrenner's dunk and converted and-one.

Kaluma's inside bucket with one second left on the shot clock followed by Nembhard's layup put the Bluejays ahead 19-16. But Sanogo replied with three consecutive buckets to put the hosts ahead 22-19 with 7:28 left in the half and prompted McDermott to call a timeout.

Sanogo's scores kick-started a 16-5 UConn run in a 7:49 span to put the Huskies ahead 32-24, their largest lead to that point.

Creighton cut the deficit to five, 34-29, when the Huskies were called for goaltending on a Kaluma shot. But Newton hit a three-pointer on the other end with 12 seconds left in the half to give the hosts a 37-29 edge at the break.

In all there were two ties and eight lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. Sanogo finished the half with 14 points while Hawkins had 11.

The Huskies return to action Wednesday when they travel to Milwaukee to play Marquette. Tipoff at Fiserv Forum is set for 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network).

For coverage of UConn football and 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.