Tristen Newton scored a season-high 23 points as No. 20 UConn took control midway through the first half and pulled away in the second half for an 83-59 rout of Oregon on Thursday night in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore.
The Huskies (6-0) will face No. 12 Michigan State or No. 18 Alabama in a semifinal Friday night.
Oregon (2-3) lost its second straight game to a ranked foe and will face No. 12 Michigan State or No. 18 Alabama in a consolation game after struggling significantly more than its 10-point loss to third-ranked Houston on Sunday.
Newton scored 21 points in the first half as he made a career-high five 3-pointers. The East Carolina transfer was 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Jordan Hawkins added 12 of his 18 points after halftime and hit five 3-pointers as the Huskies made a school-record 17 of 37 from beyond the arc (45.9 percent) and shot 47.6 percent overall. Adama Sanogo contributed 12 and Joe Calcaterra chipped in 11 as UConn handed out 22 assists on its 30 field goals.
Kel’el Ware paced Oregon with a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench. N’Faly Dante added 15 as the Ducks played without Keeshawn Barthelemy due to a leg injury sustained Sunday against Houston.
Oregon’s Wil Richardson continued his early-season struggle by being held to nine points on 3-of-9 from the floor as the Ducks shot 42.6 percent and committed 17 turnovers.
Newton capped a 14-4 run with a 3-pointer with 5:22 left for a 27-17 lead. He hit another 3 less than two minutes later for a 30-20 advantage, a layup that pushed the lead to 35-22 with 2:25 left and two free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Huskies a 39-28 lead by halftime.
The Huskies took their second 20-point lead when 7-foot-2 freshman Donovan Clingan hit a jumper to make it 58-38 with 13:59 left. Consecutive 3-pointers by Alex Karaban extended the margin to 72-44 with 8:20 remaining.
–Field Level Media