National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Connecticut 82, Eastern Washington 65
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 28, 2013
Where: Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Officials: # Mark Schnur, # Zelton Steed, # Kevin Fehr
Attendance: 9274

No. 15 Connecticut 82, Eastern Washington 65: Shabazz Napier paced a balanced effort with 15 points and nine assists as the Huskies posted a home victory over the Eagles.

Ryan Boatright (14 points), Niels Giffey (13), Omar Calhoun (12) and Phillip Nolan (11) also scored in double figures for Connecticut (11-1). The Huskies only made three 3-pointers - six fewer than the Eagles - but made up for it by hitting 25-of-27 foul shots.

Meanwhile, Eastern Washington (5-6) shot 37.3 percent and committed 15 turnovers en route to its fourth straight loss. Tyler Harvey scored 19 points and Ognjen Miljkovic had 15 off the bench for the Eagles.

The first half was close throughout, although Connecticut scored the final five points of the half - on Giffey's 3-pointer and layup - to take a 30-23 lead into the locker room. Drew Brandon opened up the second half with a 3-pointer for Eastern Washington, but the Huskies scored eight of the next nine points, capped by DeAndre Daniels' dunk, to open up an 11-point lead.

Parker Kelly's 3-pointer drew the Eagles within 70-59 with 4:28 to play, but eight straight points by UConn ended any potential drama. The Huskies improved to 8-1 at home and begin play in the American Athletic Conference on New Year's Eve with a trip to Houston.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Eastern Washington did not score in the final 4:21 of the first half. ... Brandon (13 points) and Kelly (10) also scored in double figures for the Eagles. ... Four Huskies players had multiple steals, led by Giffey and Boatright with three apiece.
Top Game Performances
 
Eastern Washington   Connecticut
Tyler Harvey 19 Scoring Shabazz Napier 15
Drew Brandon 4 Assists Shabazz Napier 9
Venky Jois 7 Rebounds Omar Calhoun 6
Tyler Harvey 3 Free Throws Made Phillip Nolan 7
Tyler Harvey 2 Steals Ryan Boatright 3
Venky Jois 3 Blocks Niels Giffey 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Eastern Washington 65 37.3 9-28 6-7 11 33 4 5 15
Connecticut 82 45.8 3-10 25-27 13 36 8 9 11