UConn leaves NU in the dark

STORRS, Conn. -- With a howling snowstorm whipping up outside, the Connecticut and Northeastern men's basketball teams had hardly worked up a sweat when the power went out inside.

The lights went out in Gampel Pavilion less than three minutes into last night's game, and after a 20-minute delay, No. 7 Connecticut dominated inside in a 97-60 victory.

Josh Boone had a career-high 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead UConn in a matchup of schools nicknamed Huskies.

"It's good that we could come back from [the delay]," Boone said. "It's something that stopped the momentum, stops the flow of the game. But it was good that we showed poise."

UConn (4-0) gave NU (2-4) few good looks all night and shut down the backcourt of Marcus Barnes and Jose Juan Barea, who were averaging a combined 44 points. Barnes finished with 20 points, while Barea had 10 on 3-for-20 shooting. The two were 3 for 18 from 3-point range.

UConn, the reigning national champion, has won 13 straight games dating to last season.

The game meshed UConn coach Jim Calhoun's past and present. His 33 seasons in Division 1 coaching started with 14 at Northeastern, which he took to five NCAA Tournaments while compiling a 248-137 record. In his 19th season at UConn, Calhoun has built the program into a national power with two national championships and a 436-165 record.

UConn leads the series, 32-4, and hasn't lost to Northeastern since Calhoun coached a team that included Reggie Lewis and current UConn assistant Andre LaFleur to a 90-73 victory Dec. 28, 1985.

Calhoun said he was tempted to continue playing with the auxiliary lighting.

"I said, `Why don't we play? We've played in worse gyms than this,' " Calhoun said.

In the first six minutes after the delay, UConn built a 15-point lead. NU closed within 9 points on Barea's 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining, but UConn scored the next 6 points and led, 43-28, at halftime. Boone, a 6-foot-10-inch sophomore, had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

"They were relentless," NU coach Ron Everhart said. "Those guys really did a good job of getting to the rim, blocking us out, and getting the rebound."

Charlie Villanueva scored 17 points and Denham Brown added 15 for UConn.