Connecticut Edges Past Morgan State 69-65
Morgan State hits 50% of their 3 pointers

box score

STORRS, Conn. - Jerome Dyson (Rockville, Md.) scored 20 points and Jeff Adrien (Brookline, Mass.) had a double-double as the University of Connecticut men's basketball team held off a determined Morgan State squad, 69-65, in the first round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. The game was the season opener for both teams.

The Huskies seemed to wrestle control of a tight game by opening up a 44-28 lead with 16:50 remaining on a three-pointer by Dyson. But the Bears put on a long-range shooting display that brought them on the brink of the upset win. Over a span of 6:20, Morgan State made five consecutive three-pointers, four by Reggie Holmes, the last of which tied the score at 52 with 6:41 to play.

Curtis Kelly (Queens, N.Y.), who played the best game of his Husky career, made two free throws to give the Huskies a lead they would not relinquish. Marquise Kately hit another three later to bring the Bears within one, at 58-57, but Dyson and Doug Wiggins (East Hartford, Conn.) answered with back-to-back three-pointers and Morgan State got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Dyson led the Huskies in scoring despite playing just 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. It was the seventh time in his UConn career that Dyson has scored at least 20 points. Kelly finished with 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds in a career-best 23 minutes. He was a perfect seven-for-seven from the foul line.

Adrien finished the contest with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks. The contest marks his 17th career double-double effort at Connecticut. A.J. Price (Amityville, N.Y.) had five points and a career-best nine assists in directing the point for the Huskies.

Guards Craig Austrie (Stamford, Conn.) and Wiggins each scored eight points off of the UConn bench.

Morgan State, who made 11 of 22 three-pointers in the game, was led by Holmes, who scored 18 and Boubacar Coly, who scored 12 and yanked down a game-high 13 rebounds.

The teams struggled through a closely played first half that saw the teams combine for 18 turnovers and 20 personal fouls. Neither team led by more than five points until a late scoring spurt by the Huskies gave them a 37-28 lead at intermission.

The Huskies will now play Buffalo, an 89-82 winner Wednesday over Ohio Valley, in the second round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic on Thursday at Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. and the contest will be televised-nationally by ESPNU. The winner advances to the semifinals in Madison Square Garden on Thursday, November 15. Morgan State will play Ohio Valley at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening.