No. 1 UConn rebounds from loss, pounds Villanova

Cam Spencer scored 16 of his season-high-tying 25 points in the second half as top-ranked UConn pulled away for a 78-54 victory over visiting Villanova Saturday night in Storrs, Conn.

The Huskies (25-3, 15-2 Big East) bounced back from Tuesday's 85-66 loss at No. 15 Creighton that stopped their 14-game winning streak. Looking to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since dropping three straight Jan. 11-18, 2023, UConn dominated the second half by outscoring the Wildcats 47-33 after retiring Richard Hamilton's jersey in a halftime ceremony.

Spencer matched his season high set Nov. 14 against Mississippi Valley with 9-of-13 shooting from the field and five of UConn's 10 3-pointers.

Tristen Newton finished with 10 points, 10 assists and a career-high 16 rebounds, getting his fourth career triple-double when he found Alex Karaban for a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left for UConn's final points. His four triple-doubles are the most amongst active Division I players.

Stephon Castle added 14 and Donovan Clingan contributed 13 as the Huskies shot 42.9 percent and survived missing 22 of 32 3-point tries.

Eric Dixon scored 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting but Villanova (15-12, 8-8) shot 33.3 percent. T.J. Bamba added 13 but Mark Armstrong and Justin Moore were held to a combined 15 points as Villanova shot just 3-of-24 from behind the arc and finished with its third-lowest point total of the season.

Armstrong's jumper got Villanova within 21-17 at the 5:09 mark, but a little over three minutes later, Newton's 3 gave the Huskies a 29-19 lead. Newton then hit a stepback at the shot clock expired for a 31-21 lead with 46 seconds left, and the Huskies took a 10-point lead at halftime after Castle missed a layup at the horn.

Spencer's triple put the Huskies ahead 38-26 with 16:52 left in the second half, but Villanova kept hanging around and countered with an 11-4 run to get within 42-37 on Moore's turnaround jumper nearly 3 1/2 minutes later.

Villanova was within 45-40 after Bamba sank a free throw with 11:34 left. Spencer and Hassan Diarra combined for 10 points in UConn's 12-0 run that made it 57-40 with 8:47 remaining.