Karaban's career-high 26 carries No. 5 UConn in rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Alex Karaban scored a career-high 26 points to lead No. 5 UConn to a 101-63 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.

Tristen Newton scored 16 points, Cam Spencer had 15 and Donovan Clingan added 11 points and blocked three shots for the Huskies (9-1), who shot 56% from the floor and made 13 3-pointers.

The game came in the midst of challenging stretch for UConn, which was coming off a loss at No. 2 Kansas and a win over No. 9 North Carolina at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies head back on the road this week for a game against No. 7 Gonzaga in Seattle.

Rashad Williams had 23 points to lead Pine Bluff (4-7).

UConn led 45-33 at intermission and extended that in the second half, taking its first 20-point lead at 62-42 on a follow layup off an offensive rebound by Karaban. The Huskies' first 30-point lead came on a three-point play by Stephon Castle.

Despite being heavy underdogs, Pine Bluff stayed with the Huskies through much of the first 20 minutes.

UConn led 33-31 with just over 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half before closing on a 12-2 run, which was highlighted by a block from Clingan that led to a fast-break layup from Solomon Ball on the other end.

The Huskies outscored the Golden Lions 56-30 in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

UAPB: The Golden Lions came into the game averaging just under 30 3-point attempts and just over 11 3-point shots made per game. They finished 12 of 30 on Saturday,

UConn: UConn has not lost a nonconference home game since falling to St. Joseph's in November 2019.

UP NEXT

UAPB: The Golden Lions travel to Tampa to take on South Florida on Tuesday night.

UConn: The Huskies head to Washington to face No. 7 Gonzaga on Friday night in a rematch of last season's West Regional final.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball