After a brief power outage early in the first half of play as the Huskies faced Northeastern at Gampel Pavilion, it would be UConn that would turn on the power. Connecticut would eventually clamp down on defense and dominate the Boston based Huskies in the post. UConn would crush Northeastern on the glass 74-39 while grabbing 30 offensive rebounds and scoring 52 points in the paint. They would also, once again, be sparked in the second half by the dual point guard backcourt of Marcus Williams and Antonio Kellogg.

UConn's post presence in large part consisted of Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva. Boone would score a career high 19 points to go along with a season high 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

"We knew from the beginning that we were supposed to be able to dominate them with our size," said Boone. "There was no excuse for us not to dominate them inside tonight...in the end we were too deep and too strong."

For Boone, being a featured player, as well as being counted on to be a reliable scorer in the post, is a new adjustment after being a role player on last year's national championship team and averaging 5.4 points per game. But Boone is making remarkable progress early in the season averaging nearly 16 points per game while shooting 61% from the floor. "I'm a lot further along (offensively) than last year," said Boone. "Last year I was barely looking to score at all, where as this year I'm really trying to score the ball."

Villanueva would pull himself out of an offensive slump scoring 17 points on 7-13 shooting while grabbing 8 boards and blocking three shots in 21 minutes of action as he asserted himself in the paint. A big game was just what Villanueva needed for his confidence after a slow start to the year. Charlie would pull his teammates together before the game and ask for their help to get him going.

"He was talking to us before the game," said Boone. "He was saying that he really needed to have a good game tonight. I think he really did a good job. He was really active on the offensive glass, he was really looking to score tonight and he was playing good defense."

The rest of the Huskies big men would get into the act as well, and do so very efficiently. Hilton Armstrong would contributed 9 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in 11 minutes of action. Marcus White added 6 points and 6 rebounds in just 7 minutes, while Ed Nelson scored 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 8 minutes of playing time.

After a lackluster first half found the Huskies leading Northeastern 43-28, Antonio Kellogg and Marcus Williams would spark UConn in a second half run as Calhoun would use his dual point guard backcourt to jump start the Huskies once again, just as he had against Indiana two days earlier.

Kellogg and Williams would take turns assisting Charlie Villanueva on back to back dunks 6 minutes into the second half. Kellogg would then throw a half court alley-oop to Denham Brown sending the crowd into a frenzy. It was the beginning of the end for Northeastern and the spark that UConn and their fans needed. The Huskies would begin a 17-0 run with 13 minutes to play, holding Northeastern scoreless for over 7 minutes.

UConn's two young point guards feel that they are pushing each other and learning a few things from one another along the way.

"I think we're feeding off each other a lot," said Marcus Williams. "His aggressiveness I'm starting to pick up. I think the way I push the ball and find the open man, that's what he's picking up...we compliment each other very well. He's more of a fast aggressive player, I'm more laid back, I try to get my teammates the ball."

Williams and Kellogg would combine for 13 assists and just one turnover for the game as well as 11 rebounds

"Coach mentioned that he's starting to see a sign that when me and (Marcus Williams) are in the game. We're going to run and get up the court," said Kellogg. "He said he's starting to see a sign, I don't know what he's going to do with it but he's a mastermind so it's going to be something good."

Coach Jim Calhoun says he's pleased with the Huskies defense thus far this season and he has every reason to be. Through 4 games UConn is holding opponents to 30% shooting overall and 25% from the three point line. Connecticut is also out rebounding the competition by an astonishing 25 boards per game while averaging 12.5 blocked shots.

UConn would clamp down on Northeastern Monday night just as they have with every other team that has crossed their path. Juan Jose Barea, Northeastern's leading scorer at over 25 points per game, would score just 10 points on 3-20 shooting. Connecticut would hold Northeastern as a team to just 27% shooting from the field for the game while also holding them scoreless for over 7 minutes in the second half.

Denham Brown continued his steady play against Northeastern. Brown scored 15 points on 7-13 shooting while grabbing 5 rebounds and four steals. Brown is averaging 12.5 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game while shooting 51% from the floor and 53% behind the three point line. The junior forward, known for his deadly deep shooting stroke, is starting to diversify his game to the delight of coach Jim Calhoun.

Brown would hit one three pointer versus Northeastern but would do most of his damage scoring in transition, on midrange jumpers and drives to the basket, including a highlight reel crossover move where he juked Marcus Barnes so bad that Barnes tripped himself up landing squarely on his behind as Brown drove the lane and dunked to the delight of the Gampel Pavilion crowd.

Josh Boone was named player of the game for UConn with a career high 19 points to go along with a season high 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Marcus Barnes was named player of the game for Northeastern with 20 points on 9-18 shooting.

UConn freshman Rudy Gay was voted Big East Rookie of the Week. Gay averaged 11.5 points and 9 rebounds in victories over Florida International and Indiana.

Next up for UConn is their first road game of the year at UMass on Thursday. The game, scheduled for a 9:00 pm start, will be televised by ESPN2.

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