STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Joey Calcaterra scored all of his 14 points in the second half to help second-ranked UConn rally from its first second-half deficit of the season for an 84-73 victory over Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Tristan Newton had 17 points and seven assists, while Adama Sanogo added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (13-0, 2-0 Big East). Jordan Hawkins scored 15 points and Andre Jackson finished with seven points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Primo Spears had 19 points and Qudus Wahab 16 points and nine rebounds for Georgetown (5-8, 0-2).
UConn led by seven at halftime, but a dunk by former UConn forward/center Akok Akok gave Georgetown a 51-49 lead with 16:35 left to play. It was the first time this season that the Huskies have trailed in the second half this season.
Newton started the comeback by drawing an offensive foul and then hitting free throws after an aggressive drive to the basket. Calcaterra hit a pair of layups and then had a behind-the-back pass to set up a dunk by Donovan Clingan.
Hassan Diarra and Calcaterra later hit three-pointers to give UConn a six-point lead.
UConn cooled off after a strong start from the perimeter, but made five of its last six 3-pointers to open up a 47-40 lead at halftime. It was just the third time this season and the first time at home that UConn failed to lead by at least 10 points at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Georgetown: It was the type of performance that could help the Hoyas, who were picked to finish 10th out of 11 teams in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll
UConn: The Huskies won their conference home opener without huge games from stars Sanogo and Hawkins.
UP NEXT
Georgetown plays at DePaul on Dec. 29
UConn hosts Villanova at the XL Center on Dec. 28.