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Solo Ball hit for a team-high 12 points as No. 2 Connecticut rolled to an 81-46 win over visiting East Texas A&M on Tuesday in Storrs, Conn. to capture its fourth straight game to open the season.

The Huskies (4-0) were ahead by 22 points at halftime and by 37 in the middle of the second half while waltzing to the finish line. UConn outshot East Texas A&M 54.2 percent to 25.4 percent and had a 50-24 edge in points in the paint.

Liam McNeeley and Alex Karaban added 11 points each in the win while Aiden Mahaney scored 10 and Tarris Reed Jr. grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. All four of the Huskies’ wins have been over mid-major teams and by at least 35 points.

Camerin James led all scorers with 18 points for East Texas (1-4). He was the lone Lions player in double figures.

The Huskies fashioned a 10-0 run after allowing East Texas A&M the game’s first basket and led 24-10 after a 3-pointer by Mahaney and then a three-point play from McNeeley, the latter at the 8:31 mark of the first half.

The Lions swung back, paring their deficit to nine points on a 3-pointer by Yusef Salih with six minutes to play in the first half. That seemed to awaken UConn, as the Huskies responded by scoring the ensuing 14 points capped by a three-point play by Ross with 55 seconds left and — after a pair of free throws by Ahmad Nowell with 27 seconds remaining – they carried a 42-20 advantage to the break.

Ball led all scorers before halftime with 10 points as UConn outshot the Lions 51.7 percent to 24.1 percent, outrebounded the visitors 27-14 and had an 11-0 edge in fast break points over the first 20 minutes.

Scooter Williams Jr. paced East Texas A&M with seven points in the first half.

UConn boosted its lead to 36 points on Ball’s layup with 13:25 to play. The Huskies were up 64-27 before East Texas A&M forged a 12-2 run culminated by a three-point play from James to pull within 66-39 and send four of the Huskies’ starters back into the game to regain the momentum.

The Huskies pushed the lead back to 37 before settling for the 35-point final margin.

–Field Level Media