PORTLAND, Ore. — Donovan Clingan had 15 points and 10 rebounds to power No. 20 UConn to a 71-53 win over Iowa State in the championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational on Sunday night.
Tristen Newton scored 13 points for the Huskies (8-0), who went 20-for-25 at the free-throw line. Alex Karaban and Andre Jackson Jr. each had 10 points.
Osun Osunniyi led Iowa State (5-1) with 14 points. Tamin Lipsey had 12 points and Jaren Holmes finished with 11.
“They were the more aggressive team,” said Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger. “We wanted a physical game. We didn’t want a physical game with them getting the rebounds and then also us putting them on the foul line. Lesson that we’ve got to learn is we need to embrace being the aggressor at both ends.” of the floor at all times.”
The Huskies had more offensive rebounds (20) than the Cyclones had total rebounds (19), and capitalized on that disparity with 20 second-chance points.
“Those guys are tough,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “TJ’s an excellent coach. They grind people up. To outrebound them, it just speaks to how tough we were.”
Clingan, who was named tournament MVP, scored eight points to help UConn to a 38–28 lead at the break.
Iowa State closed to 53–48 on Holmes’ 3-pointer midway through the second half. But Karaban made a 3 and a dunk, and Newton’s jumper made it 60-48 with 7:13 remaining.
