Stewart stands out as No. 4 UConn men open season with 79-55 win over New Haven

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Nov 3, 2025

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STORRS, Conn. — Dan Hurley said he needed more from Jaylin Stewart and he got it Monday.

The junior shined in UConn’s season-opening, 79-55, win over New Haven, which played like it belonged in its Division I debut. Getting the start in place of highly-touted freshman Braylon Mullins (ankle), Stewart was assertive from the start and finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Alex Karaban scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds to begin his senior season with a double-double. Solo Ball shot 3 for 10 from beyond the arc but finished with 18 points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Silas Demary Jr. added 10 points and five rebounds in his UConn regular season debut.

UConn, which won its 34th-consecutive nonconference home game, had a talented trio on the end of its bench as senior center Tarris Reed Jr. (hamstring) and freshman guard Jacob Furphy (ankle) joined Mullins in white polo shirts and khakis.

The Huskies had 11 assists on 27 made baskets as they shot 48.2% from the field and 8 for 23 from beyond the arc.

New Haven was led by the trio of Andre Pasha (17 points, six rebounds), Maison Adeleye (13 points) and Najimi George (14 points, four rebounds). The Chargers shot 23 of 52 from the field and forced 12 UConn turnovers.

The rim wasn’t very friendly to the Huskies in the first half.

After starting 4 of 5 from the field, UConn made just four of its next 18 shots before Dwayne Koroma got a bad bounce on a layup and Ball came flying in, letting his frustration out with a put-back dunk over Adeleye, who was called for a foul. The three-point play put the Huskies up 25-15 with five and a half minutes to go.

Ball saw his first 3-pointer fall from the corner with about a minute left, but New Haven answered with its first on seven first-half attempts. Karaban nailed another from deep on the next possession to give UConn its largest lead of the half, but the big man, Pasha, cut it to 37-24 at the break with a mid-range jumper that gave the Huskies fits all night.

Both teams started the second half making four of their first five shots from the field as Adeleye continued to get past UConn’s perimeter defense and to the basket with ease. The Chargers went on a 7-0 run before Ball was fouled on back-to-back 3-pointers and made six-straight from the stripe.

George, a Bridgeport native, made consecutive buckets before Stewart flew in for an acrobatic block on his shot, setting up a 3-pointer for Ball in transition that woke up the crowd.

UConn’s lead grew to as many as 21 points with less than six minutes to play as Karaban scored seven in a row to complement an improved defensive stretch. But the Chargers wouldn’t go away easy, cutting the difference back to 15 with two minutes to play before a final surge from Karaban and the Huskies.

The Huskies, ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25, will host UMass Lowell at PeoplesBank Arena on Friday night and return to Gampel Pavilion for Columbia on Nov. 10 before their first high-major test of the regular season against No. 9 BYU at Boston’s TD Garden on Nov. 15.

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