UNCASVILLE – Na’jai Hines came off the bench in UConn’s first exhibition game against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena, but once he checked in, it was hard to look away.
It took a bit for the rust to get knocked off – almost five minutes before the first field goal was made by either team – but the Huskies’ new big man helped his team and the crowd settle in with his paint presence. The Seton Hall transfer was responsible for the first few crowd pops, throwing down an alley-oop dunk from Jayden Ross and then finding himself in the perfect spot for a putback dunk to give the Huskies some breathing room early.
Hines led UConn to a 72-52 win in its first matchup with Syracuse since 2018 (albeit an exhibition) with a game-high 17 points. He made 5 of 7 shots from the field, 7 of 8 from the foul line, and grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and made a steal in just 17 minutes.
It was also a strong first introduction to CT for Duke transfer Nik Khamenia as he saw three 3-pointers fall on five attempts and set the tone for what ended up being a strong shooting night for the Huskies as they made 8 of 20 from deep (40%). Khamenia finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Silas Demary Jr. assumed his role as quarterback and, despite an off shooting night (3-for-12), provided 13 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Big East Preseason Player of the Year made a 3-pointer and Wofford transfer Nils Machowski hit a jumper as the first half buzzer sounded to give the Huskies a 31-26 lead at halftime. They forced nine Syracuse turnovers and limited the Orange to just seven made field goals in the opening frame.
Khamenia got the second-half scoring started with a 3 and Colben Landrew announced his presence, scoring his first college point at the free throw line. His finishing ability was on display as he made 3 of 6 shots from the field to get to eight points, along with his four rebounds and two steals.
His classmate, Junior County, made two 3-pointers in the second half and Hines cleared his own way for a layup that earned the loudest ovation of the night as the Huskies went ahead, 57-40, with less than eight minutes to play. County tacked on a third triple in the final minutes to get to nine points and seven rebounds in his first taste of action.
UConn shot 23-for-56 (41.1%) from the field and limited its turnover problem in the second half to finish with nine for the game. A handful of those turnovers came from offensive fouls as the Huskies were whistled 23 times to Syracuse’s 21 – notably, starting center Oskar Giltay fouled out with four points and two rebounds, and Ross was limited to two points in 20 minutes after his early string of fouls.
Syracuse shot 15-for-49 (30.6%) from the field and 4-for-19 (21.1%) from deep. The Orange finished the game with 16 turnovers.
The Huskies will travel to East Lansing for their second exhibition game on Tuesday at Michigan State, which is set to tip at 7 p.m.