Khamenia goes down as UConn men's basketball rolls over Wagner, 83-41

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Nov 9, 2026

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STORRS, Conn. — The UConn men’s basketball team beat Wagner, 83-41, at Gampel Pavilion Monday night, but it suffered a more significant loss as forward Nik Khamenia left the game with an injury midway through the first half.

Khamenia scored 11 points in just seven minutes before going down awkwardly on his left foot during a defensive possession and heading back to the locker room 10 minutes into the game.

UConn (3-0), wreaking havoc defensively but hitting a lull after a strong start at the other end, didn’t have another double-figure scorer until Silas Demary Jr. made his fifth steal with a minute left in the first half and finished a second-consecutive layup in transition. He followed a standout performance in Friday’s championship rematch over Michigan with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and a career-high six steals, just three shy of the program’s single-game record (shared at nine by Jerome Dyson and Scott Burrell).

The Huskies forced 26 turnovers in the game, more than they forced in any game last season, and scored 37 points off of them.

Center Na’jai Hines, challenged by coach Dan Hurley coming into the season, let alone Monday’s game, was limited to four points on two second-chance buckets in the first half as he was whistled twice for fouls. He continued to be a force on the offensive glass in the second half and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, only one coming at the defensive end.

All five starters finished in double figures as Jayden Ross scored 12 and Braylon Mullins got to 10 despite shooting 2 for 12 from the field and 1 for 9 from beyond the arc.

Khamenia threw the first punches early, nailing a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight points as the Huskies – active on the offensive glass with a pair of putbacks from Hines and forcing four quick turnovers – started the game on a 14-0 run over the first five minutes.

He made a third triple in as many attempts before apparently taking an awkward step, grabbing his foot and limping into the locker room with 10 minutes left in the first half, as the Huskies led, 21-9.

UConn scored 23 points off 17 forced turnovers in the first half and took a 44-18 lead into the locker room after former Huskies’ center Youssouf Singare and current Huskies’ backup center Oskar Giltay traded layups in the final minute.

Singare started and finished the game with five points (2 for 3), three rebounds and a pair of steals.

The Huskies’ lead swelled to 38 points with 14 1/2 minutes left in the second half as Demary set up Mullins for a dunk in transition, his first made field goal of the game. He started 0 for 8 from the field with six missed 3-pointers after scoring a team-high 23 points at TD Garden Friday night.

Three-pointers from Demary, Ross and Nils Machowski, who started the season 0 for 6 from deep, and another bucket from Ross, made it a 42-point game and Mullins pushed the lead to 45 with his first triple on seven attempts.

UConn made 9 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc and went 18 for 24 from the free throw stripe.

Ohio State is next up at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn., Friday night, followed by the Huskies’ first true road game of the season at No. 12 Arizona on Wednesday.

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