Storrs — UConn has finally found its groove after playing out of tune for most of the season.

Maybe just in time to potentially turn around the season.

For the second straight game, the Huskies played sweet music while drumming another American Athletic Conference basketball foe.

This time, they took out Temple 73-59, a team that's given them fits in recent years, at Gampel Pavilion. They've won two straight for the first time in over a month to improve to 7-9 overall, 2-3 in the conference.

"It's a good feeling to see our hard work starting to pay off a little bit," senior Kentan Facey said. "We just need to stay connected and stay together, keep playing hard and keep playing with this energy for 40 minutes and I think we'll be fine.

It's a modest winning streak, but meaningful nevertheless. Momentum is clearly on their side heading to play at former Big East rival Georgetown on Saturday.

"I think we're going to keep going and keep getting better," sophomore Jalen Adams said.

It was a good night for the veteran frontcourt duo of Facey and Amida Brimah, who helped the Huskies score a whopping 42 points in the paint — their highest total against a Division I team this season. Facey fueled the offense, contributing a career-high 23 points and grabbing a team-best 10 rebounds. An active Brimah protected the rim, blocking six shots — all during a strong first half — and also had 13 points.

Adams served as maestro, directing the offense and dishing out a career-best 12 assists to go with 11 points.

The Huskies clearly built off an impressive 15-point win over Central Florida on Sunday.

"It was a good us win...," coach Kevin Ollie said. "Guys are getting better. That's what I like to see."   

Still, it was far from an easy win.

UConn had to work hard to close this game out after watching a 17-point lead shrink to seven several times in the second half.

Leading 58-49 with seven minutes remaining, the determined Huskies kicked it in gear again to re-establish a double digit lead.

Freshman Vance Jackson (10 points) converted a driving basket and Brimah scored off an offensive rebound, got fouled and made the free throw for a three-point play.

The same duo delivered back-to-back baskets again, as Jackson finished off a nifty reverse layup and Brimah dunked home a lob pass from Adams for a 67-51 edge with four and a half minutes remaining.

That's all UConn needed.

The Huskies created some breathing room in the first half by racing out to a 39-28 lead at the break. It started out as an inside job, as Facey and Brimah sparked the Huskies to a 22-9 advantage. Facey's 15-foot jumper capped a 14-1 run. He had 11 points by halftime.

Their aggressive defense rattled the Owls, who missed 12 straight shots at one point and hit just 32.4 percent in the first half. Brimah set the early tone, swatting shot after shot.

"It looked like he was blocking every shot that came into the lane," Ollie said. "He did a good job establishing that."

Temple shot 36 percent overall. Leading scorer Obi Enechionyia finished with just seven points, shooting 3-for-17 from the field.

The once cold-shooting Huskies have heated up. They've gone from an ugly, struggling offense to a smooth-flowing, balanced attack. They hit 52.8 percent from the field and assisted on 18 of 28 field goals. They drained 13 of 17 free throws.

Ollie had to search for things to complain about.

"We executed on the offensive end...," Ollie said. "We shared the ball. Once again, we outrebounded a team, which is a major key for us. And we got to the free throw line."

g.keefe@theday.com