Hartford — Thinking back to his first UConn basketball practice, freshman Vance Jackson isn't sure what happened that day.

Jackson didn't finish the grueling workout, ending up in the trainer's room. It was a humbling experience.

"To me, it was a fluke," Jackson said. "I was ready. I don't know what happened. But the next day I came back ready and just built on it from there.

"I became more focused and started doing the little things and put in extra work."

Jackson has come along way since that early October workout.

Part of a highly-regarded freshmen class, Jackson put his impressive shooting skills on display in UConn's exhibition opener Sunday afternoon before 5,826 fans at the XL Center. With a team-high 15 points, he was one of five Huskies to score in double figures in an 83-68 win over Division II New Haven.

"He just knows how to play on the offensive end," coach Kevin Ollie said. "Now we've got to get his defense up to par. All in all, he had a great game. ... He couldn't make it through practice day one. He's been improving and getting better."

It's a positive sign considering the Huskies are in need of perimeter weapons this season. They lost their leading 3-point shooter from last season in Sterling Gibbs.

Jackson was deadly from 3-range converting 4-of-6 attempts. The rest of the Huskies went a combined 0-for-9 from there.

"He's a lights-out shooter," said sophomore Jalen Adams, who had 12 points. "I told you guys the other day that he's a great shooter. He proved me right today. All you've got to do is get him the ball. ... and it's going in almost all the time."

Jackson arrived at UConn from Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., with a reputation as a shooter. After a quiet first half, he heated up, combining with transfer Terry Larrier (14 points, a team-best seven rebounds) to fuel a  29-8 spurt.

With the score deadlocked at 43-43, senior Kentan Facey (13 points) buried a lane jumper to put UConn ahead for good and start the run.

Freshman Alterique Gilbert (five assists), who's blessed with roadrunner speed, energized the Huskies. He set up Larrier for two straight baskets. Larrier sat out last season after transferring from Virginia Commonwealth University.

"It felt great," Larrier said. "Just putting on the jersey, I got chills. I'm glad, fortunate and blesssed that I'm able to come out and play. I just look forward to the rest of the season."

UConn's impressive stretch continued.

Jackson took over, converting a natural 3-point play and firing in another 3-pointer for a 59-45 edge. The Huskies eventually stretched the lead to 21.

New Haven coach Ted Hotaling joked that Jackson, a 6-foot-8 forward, wasn't on the scouting report.

"UConn is trying to figure out their team...," Hotaling said. "Probably what coach Ollie figured out was the big kid can shoot. And he's going to stretch the floor for them and that really changes their dynamic. ... If you have a guy who can space the floor and shoot like that, especially with his size, it really does change the defense."

In many ways, it was a typically uneven exhibition performance.

Ball pressure defense, a trademark of any success UConn program, was missing at times. The Huskies struggled to contain point guard Danny Upchurch, who fired in 33 points.

"We had some learning bumps, defensively," Adams said. "But we're definitely going to build on that when we get back to practice. We can go up from here. Everybody was playing hard. But, at first, the young guys were nervous. Everybody walked into the game like, we're UConn.

"Now we learned, no matter who you play — Division I or Division II — they're going to be good. You've just got to go out there and play with energy."

Ollie used all 11 scholarship players. All five freshmen did something positive.

Everybody is going to have their day because we're all very talented and versatile," Jackson said. "Every time we step on the court, we've just got to be ready to play."

The young Huskies play one more exhibition game — Saturday against Southern Connecticut State University in Storrs — before the regular season opener on Nov. 11 against Wagner.

"It's really going to give an opportunity this week to coach these guys up...," Ollie said. "Effort makes a difference and I see enough effort to get us where we need to get to at the end of the season. We'll make the corrections.

"All in all, I thought it was a good first game to get these guys under the lights to see how they perform."

g.keefe@theday.com