Hartford, CT (Sports Network) - Stanley Robinson scored 29 points and Jerome Dyson added 17, leading 11th-ranked Connecticut to a 93-74 victory over Iona at the XL Center.
Stanley Robinson Leads No. 11 UConn To Easy Win Over Iona
Kemba Walker chipped in 14 points and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel finished with 13 for UConn (9-2), which has won three straight since a 64-61 loss to Kentucky and will open Big East play on Wednesday at Cincinnati.
“I asked the players to play hard today right from the get-go, and I think we did,” said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun.
Scott Machado scored 14 points for Iona (8-5), which had a four-game winning streak stopped. The Gaels dropped to 1-1 against Big East foes this season, having beaten Providence earlier this month.
UConn opened some early breathing room with an 8-2 run, turning a 6-4 lead into a 14-6 advantage. A pair of three-pointers pulled Iona within two, but Dyson drained a shot from beyond the arc to ignite a 9-3 Husky run. Robinson’s jumper off the break with just under 11 minutes left in the half gave Connecticut a 23-15 edge.
Iona kept firing up shots from long distance and made it a three-point game just two minutes later on a trey by Machado, but the Huskies had an answer and built a 30-20 lead on a bucket by Walker. The Gaels got only as close as eight from there and the Huskies went into the break with a 45-31 cushion.
UConn was never seriously threatened in the second half, although Iona managed to pull within 10 on a couple of occasions. At 56-46, Robinson connected from outside the arc to start a 12-5 spurt. A three-pointer from Coombs-McDaniel gave UConn a 68-51 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.
The Gaels got only as close as 13 from there.
“I was surprised that we scored as much as we scored, considering their size and their length,” said Iona head coach Kevin Willard. “And we actually missed a lot of easy shots that we usually make. But we just couldn’t stop them in transition. They were terrific.”
Connecticut made 58.9 percent of its shots and hit 25-of-35 from the free throw line...Iona connected on 9-of-25 from three-point range and shot 42.4 percent overall...UConn improved to 8-0 as the host this season...The Huskies lead the all-time series, 3-1...Iona resumes MAAC action next Saturday with a visit to Niagara.
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