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No. 4 Uconn uses strong second half to defeat Maine

Nov 18, 2011 - 4:10 AM Hartford, CT (Sports Network) - Alex Oriakhi finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, as fourth-ranked Connecticut used a strong second half to get past Maine, 80-60, at XL Center.

Jeremy Lamb added 16 points for the Huskies (3-0), who outscored the Black Bears (1-1) by a 44-29 margin after halftime.

DeAndre Daniels posted 15 points, while Andre Drummond and Tyler Olander both had a double-double. Drummond finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Olander ended with 11 and 10.

Justin Edwards scored 20 points to lead Maine, which defeated Maine-Machias on Monday to open its season.

"We knew we had a difficult challenge here tonight. We have a lot of young guys on our roster, but I thought our guys did a great job, especially in the first half," said Maine head coach Ted Woodward.

The Black Bears kept the first half close. While they trailed most of the way, they stayed close and pulled within 36-31 when Xavier Pollard sank a layup in the final minute, and went into the break facing that deficit.

But UConn opened the second half with a 23-2 run to essentially secure the victory. It was a productive stretch on both ends of the court, lasting 10 minutes and essentially securing the victory.

The Huskies scored the first six points of the second half -- capped by a Shabazz Napier three-pointer -- to create some distance. Edwards followed with two free throws, but Maine couldn't sink a shot from the floor.

During the pivotal run, the Black Bears missed all 13 of their shots and turned the ball over seven times.

"We were playing full speed," Olander said. "We were playing with more energy, more enthusiasm, and more fire that we should play a lot better than this."

The run allowed UConn to turn the game into a rout. Drummond's dunk nearly midway through the half pushed the Huskies' lead to 59-33, and they cruised to the victory from there.

Game Notes

UConn held a 57-28 rebounding advantage...Drummond added four blocks...Maine sank 8-of-22 three-pointers, compared to 5-for-23 for the Huskies.