Storrs — Tarin Smith turned down his first chance to play for Dan Hurley a few years ago.

Hurley's happy that the talented Smith accepted his offer the second time when asked to join the UConn basketball program as a graduate transfer.

Smith, the Atlantic 10 Conference's sixth man of the year at Duquesne last season, came off the bench to contribute a game-high 22 points in a productive 19 minutes on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion. He was one of four Huskies to score in double figures in a satisfying 94-66 rout of Missouri-Kansas City.

"Tarin Smith was fantastic...," Hurley said. "Obviously, he got comfortable in that role last year. ... . He's not coming off the bench by design. He's been dealing with a quad injury that is limiting him in practice for the last month and he's been on a minutes restriction. He's in the sixth-man role by design right now just because he's not been healthy. But he's looked pretty good not healthy.

"Once he's fully healthy, he might not be so accepting of the sixth man role, especially when he plays like that."

Smith has known the Hurley family since his high school days. He played for Dan's father Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's in Jersey City, N.J. Bob Hurley was in attendance on Sunday.

Hurley tried to convince Smith to join him at Rhode Island but the versatile 6-foot-3 guard from Ocean Township, N.J., went to Nebraska instead, spending a year there before transferring to Duquesne. Smith played against Hurley's Rams.

"When we prepared for them, he was one of the two guys that were made focal points in terms of our game prep, what we were trying to take away offensively," Hurley said. "He puts so much pressure on the defense in transition and then in the half-court because he's so strong and athletic and he can get in the paint so easy."

Smith seems like a perfect fit for the Huskies, filling a need for leadership and scoring from the perimeter. He also takes some pressure off his fellow scorers, Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert, who chipped in 20 and 12 points, respectively, Sunday. Sophomore Tyler Polley also added 12.

"I just have fun playing basketball and playing with the guys that are as talented as the guys that I play with," said Smith, who went 10 for 12 from the field and also added five rebounds and two assists.

When UConn (2-0) broke open Sunday's game with a devastating 29-5 run in the first half, Smith helped jump-start the Huskies. He scored off a driving layup, converted a short pull-up jumper and drained a corner jumper to push the lead to 23-12.

By then, the Huskies were in full attack mode. Adams and Gilbert buried back-to-back 3-pointers. Graduate transfer Kassoum Yakwe scored four straight points and then sophomore Josh Carlton's rebound basket handed UConn its first 20-point lead (35-15) with seven minutes, 40 second left. The Huskies held a 50-33 edge at the break and Smith already had 15 points.

Except for a lull to start the second half, UConn continued to play well, pressuring the ball and cranking up the fast break. The Huskies forced 18 turnovers, scored 26 fast break points and shot 53.8 percent from the field. Their point total was the most since beating South Florida, 97-51, in February 2017.

"Obviously, thrilled to get a win and thrilled to be better than we were Thursday night," said Hurley, referring to the season-opening 80-70 win over Morehead State. "I thought we showed that killer, relentlessness for longer. ... I thought we made progress from game one to game two and that's what it is all about."

Going forward, Hurley could face a decision in regards to Smith's role. It will be difficult to keep Smith on the bench, especially on Thursday when UConn faces nationally-ranked Syracuse in the 2K Empire Classic semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

"Tarin is one of our very best players," Hurley said. "I recruited him at Rhode Island and he went to Nebraska on me. I guess that's why I'm not going to start him, maybe, because I hold grudges."

Of course, Hurley was joking.

Smith doesn't care what his role is as long as he's contributing.

"Whether you start or don't start, it's basketball," Smith said. "You've just got to be ready to play when you're on the court. Whatever the team needs."

g.keefe@theday.com