Dec. 28, 2005

Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -Hilton Armstrong had 11 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks to lead Connecticut to an 85-52 victory over winless Stony Brook on Wednesday night.

Armstrong, Ed Nelson and Josh Boone delivered a dominating inside game for the second-ranked Huskies (10-0), who outscored Stony Brook 44-28 in the paint.

Nelson grabbed 13 rebounds, eight on the defensive end as UConn closed with a 63-36 rebounding edge and scored 20 points on second-chance baskets. Boone had 11 rebounds and four of UConn's 14 blocked shots.

Marcus Johnson and Rashad Anderson added 14 apiece for the Huskies and Jeff Adrien, one of three freshmen in the starting lineup, finished with a season-high 13 points.

Mitchell Beauford led the Seawolves (0-8) with 14 points, and Mike Popoko added 12 points and nine rebounds.

UConn used the press early against the Seawolves to push the pace, getting easy transition buckets to build a big cushion. The Huskies jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first 6 minutes and cruised to a 46-19 lead at the break. UConn had 24 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes as they outrebounded the Seawolves 31-16.

The game pitted UConn coach Jim Calhoun against former player and assistant Steve Pikiell, Calhoun's only two-time captain in his 20-year tenure at UConn. Against Pikiell's overmatched Seawolves, Calhoun ran his record to 9-0 against former assistants.

The game was the sixth in a seven-game homestand before UConn hits the road for its Big East opener at Marquette on Jan. 3. The Huskies have won all six home games by an average of 39.8 points a game.