STORRS, Conn. — LIU men's basketball got a shot to face one of the top teams in college basketball.
 
The Sharks battled No. 5 UConn at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and fell, 114-61, and moved to 1-8 overall.
 
This matchup concluded the home-and-home between the two teams. LIU dropped a game against the Huskies on Nov. 17, 2021, 93-40.
 
The team was without Jake Cook, Amadou Fall, Marko Maletic, Andre Washington and Tre' Wood.
 
LIU trailed 62-27 at half and struggled to defend inside, outscored 36-14 in the paint in the first half.
 
One of the bright spots on the offensive end was Jacob Johnson. The Minneapolis, Minn. finished with 19 points on 6-12 shooting, a game after he was perfect (12-12) from the free throw line vs. UMass Lowell on Monday.
 
R.J. Greene finished with 17 points and was 5-8 from the charity stripe. Quion Burns chipped in 11 and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Elijah Bailey made his collegiate debut and subsequently drilled a corner three-pointer for his first LIU points.
 
As a team, the Sharks finished shooting 42% from the field and 22% from three-point range. They were 15-24 from the free throw line.
 
LIU returns to action on Dec. 14 at UAlbany. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.