No. 1 UConn holds off No. 18 Creighton despite cold shooting

Tristen Newton had a team-high 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists as No. 1 Connecticut topped No. 18 Creighton 62-48 on Wednesday night in Storrs, Conn.

Despite shooting just 35.7 percent, the Huskies (16-2, 6-1 Big East) led by as many as 22 in their first game as the AP's top-ranked team since 2009.

UConn dominated Creighton (13-5, 4-3) on the glass, pulling down 21 offensive rebounds in the win.

Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer added 13 points apiece for the Huskies.

Spencer (11) and Newton (10) scored 21 of UConn's first 25 points.

Karaban scored all of his 13 in the second half.

Huskies sophomore Donovan Clingan recorded six points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks in his return after missing the previous five games with a foot injury.

Steven Ashworth had 14 points, Baylor Scheierman added 12 and Ryan Kalkbrenner chipped in with 11 for Creighton, which had won four straight.

Kalkbrenner added eight rebounds and five blocks.

Creighton jumped out to a 9-6 lead after Kalkbrenner scored inside twice. Newton hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the second of which started a 10-0 run for the Huskies.

Spencer capped that stretch with a four-point play to give UConn a 19-12 lead 10:30 left in the half.

Creighton cut the lead to four after Fran Farabello knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:52 left. Stephon Castle hit a layup and Hassan Diarra finished a three-point play to push UConn's lead to 11 with 1:16 left.

Trey Alexander scored the first points of the second half to trim Creighton's deficit to nine but UConn answered with a 9-0 run to take a 41-23 lead with 14:21 left in the game.

Clingan's alley-oop pushed the Huskies' lead to 20 points with 10:57 left.

Creighton made one more push, trimming the deficit to 10 with 2:32 left after going on a 10-2 run but it wasn't enough.

—Field Level Media