STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Solo Ball had 23 points and Alex Karaban added 20 points and six rebounds as third-ranked UConn topped Columbia 89-62 on Monday night.
Tarris Reed Jr. had 19 points and eight rebounds (3-0) while Jayden Ross scored 10 points off the bench for the Huskies.
Miles Franklin and Blair Thompson had 10 points each for Columbia (1-1).
UConn missed five of its first six shots, but missed consecutive field-goal attempts only twice for the rest of the first half.
Columbia only trailed by a point with 12:39 left in the first half, but the Lions missed their next 10 shots and the Huskies capitalized by hitting three 3-pointers - two by Ross - in a 16-2 run.
UConn made 10 of its last 12 shots to take a 50-27 lead at halftime. Karaban had 14 points and Ball added 13 in the first half.
Columbia outscored UConn for much of the second half before Ball, Karaban and Reed got going. The Huskies were not seriously challenged, but coach Dan Hurley made frequent substitutions.
There were 31 fouls called and 44 free throws attempted in the second half.
Avery Brown, the only Connecticut native on Columbia's roster, and Richard Nweke were both injured in the first half. Neither player returned to the game.
Up next
Columbia is at home against UMass Lowell on Thursday night.
UConn plays No. 7 BYU in the Hall of Fame Series at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday night.
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