No. 2 Connecticut beats Delaware State 79-49 (AP)

STORRS, Conn. – UConn coach Jim Calhoun was happy to see reserve forward Gavin Edwards put up a career-high 17 points Monday in the No. 2 Huskies' 79-49 rout of Delaware State..

He's hoping Edwards can provide some competition for minutes when former starter Stanley Robinson returns to the team on Dec. 15 after missing a semester for personal reasons..

The 6-foot-9 Robinson could be joined in the frontcourt rotation by 6-10 Ater Majok, a recruit from Sudan who is still awaiting clearance from the NCAA..

"The better the fight (for playing time) is, the better it is for UConn basketball, the deeper we can go, the more we can press and run," Calhoun said..

Edwards, the son of former NFL defensive lineman Earl Edwards, was 7-of-9 from the floor, using his soft hands to catch several lobs on the fast break against the overmatched Hornets. His previous high this season had been a 6-point effort against No. 22 Miami..

"Anytime I feel like I'm having like an off-day or whatever, I just know that I've got to step it up a little bit to prove myself in coach's eyes that I deserve my playing time," Edwards said..

In the only other ranked game Monday, No. 16 Syracuse easily beat Colgate 86-51..

Jerome Dyson added 15 points for the Huskies (7-0), Hasheem Thabeet had 10 points and tied his career high with 17 rebounds and Jeff Adrien chipped in 12 points..

"We had some good things happen," Calhoun said. "Gavin is a good thing. Hasheem's 17 rebounds is a good thing. But I don't think we played as well as we were capable of playing.".

Calhoun was especially displeased with the perimeter defense on Delaware State's Donald Johnson. He led the Hornets (1-9) with 25 points, including 16 in the first half while his teammates had just two. He was 6-of-11 from 3-point range..

"I've told everyone all year long that Donald Johnson can shoot the ball as well as anyone in the country," said Delaware State coach Greg Jackson. "He's just on a team that's not as talented as these teams.".

For the second consecutive game, the Huskies let an overmatched opponent stay in the game early. Johnson hit his first three 3-pointers from the same spot on the left baseline, and Delaware State trailed only 14-11 midway through the first half..

But the Huskies began pressing and went on an 19-3 run, with another Johnson 3-pointer accounting for the only Hornet points..

UConn led 44-18 going into the break after holding the Hornets to 23 percent shooting from the floor..

Johnson opened the second half with his fifth 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run. UConn didn't get its first field goal after intermission until Thabeet slammed through an ally-oop on an inbounds play with 15:29 left..

Delaware State attempted to shorten the game by running down the shot clock on most second-half possessions. The Hornets also packed their zone inside, trying to deny UConn's bigger and stronger post players. Even though they scored 20 of the first 32 points in the half, it was clear they couldn't stay with the more talented Huskies..

UConn went on a 14-4 run to make it 69-42 with 3:38 left..

Delaware State shot 29 3-pointers, hitting just seven..

"It was tough, we had to adjust to what they were doing," said Thabeet. "We don't play that many teams that hold the ball until the end of the shot clock and put it up. But, everyday is a new challenge for us and we're just trying to stack up some wins.".

Delaware State was without forward Arturo Dubois, who was averaging more than nine points and eight rebounds per game. Team officials said the senior transfer from Manhattan was suspended for disciplinary reasons, but would not elaborate..

Without him, the Hornets had a hard time with the 7-foot-3 Thabeet, who had nine rebounds in the first 9 minutes..

The Hornets have lost nine straight games since a season-opening win over Wilmington and have not played at home since their second game of the season on Nov. 15..

UConn has won 92 consecutive regular-season games in Storrs in November and December. The Huskies have a 120-17 record in Gampel Pavilion and are 57-4 against non-conference opponents..

No. 16 Syracuse 86, Colgate 51.

At Syracuse, N.Y., Paul Harris scored 22 points in 21 minutes as No. 16 Syracuse celebrated its first appearance in the national rankings in just over a year with an 86-51 victory..

Harris and Jonny Flynn combined to score the Orange's first 15 points in the first 4:31 of play — two more than the Raiders managed the entire first half as they struggled to find open looks against Syracuse's man-to-man defense. Colgate (2-3) trailed 43-13 at halftime..

Colgate, with five freshmen and three sophomores on its roster, shot 17 percent (5-for-29) and committed 15 turnovers in coming within two points of equaling the fewest points allowed by the Orange in one half. Princeton scored 11 in the first half of a 60-43 loss to Syracuse in November 1999 in the Carrier Dome..

Flynn finished with 12 points and a season-high seven assists for the Orange (7-0), who have won 43 straight in the series against Colgate and improved to 116-45 against their longtime upstate New York foe..

Colgate was without Kyle Roemer, its leading scorer a season ago at 16.3 points per game. Roemer tore a knee ligament in September and is out for the season. Mike Venezia led Colgate with 8 points.

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