Edwards stings Hornets off the bench

With 4:36 to go in the first half Craig Austrie stripped the ball from Delaware State forward Terrence Parkes and found Gavin Edwards in the lane on the fast break. Edwards finished with a strong lay-in, drawing the foul and completing the three-point play.

Despite playing only six minutes in the first half, Edwards remained in a three-way tie with Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet for the most points at the break with eight. Led by Edwards, the Huskies bench out scored Delaware State's 32-12 including 12-0 in the first half en route to a 79-49 rout of the Hornets.

Edwards, who came into the contest averaging only 12.3 minutes, played 16 and tallied a career high 17 points.

"It's nice to see Gavin go out there like he did and I hope it builds his confidence," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. "Gavin is one of the more talented guys on our team as far as athletic talent. He can do so many things, he can get to places, he has a high basketball IQ and he can make good passes."

On the defensive end of the court, Edwards added one block and two rebounds. The Hornets were outscored 40-18 in the paint and 26-2 in the first half alone.

In the Huskies' denial of the post, they tallied only nine fouls, with the Hornets getting just two points from the charity stripe.

High pressure inside forced the Hornets to take many shots from the outside, finishing only 20-of-64 from the field and taking 29 three pointers. At numerous times during the game the UConn defense played so tight on the outside Delaware State was unable to get a good looking shot off before the shot clock expired.

With Delaware State's tallest player standing at only 6-foot-7, Calhoun and the Huskies used their size advantage to leave the Hornets' forwards struggling to find a basket. Delaware State's guards contributed 31 of the team's total points including a 25-point performance from Donald Johnson.

Arturo Dubois, the Hornets' leading rebounder and arguably best big man missed the game due to a decision made by Delaware State coach Greg Jackson

With 5:01 remaining in the second half, Edwards made another athletic move to the hoop, through a hack by Delaware State's Frisco Sandidge, sending UConn to the line and Sandidge to the bench with five fouls.

Just two minutes later, with 3:28 to go, an Edwards put-back dunk off a Dyson missed three put UConn up 69-42 causing Jackson to call a timeout. Coming out of the break Edwards continued to dominate, taking the pass on a fast break from Donnell Beverly and slamming it down with authority for his 14th and 15th points of the contest.

"Gavin is always going to go out there and run," Calhoun said. "He's a very athletic player for his size. He definitely got something out of this game." "It's great to go out there and have a career game. It helps to be going up against the Big East defensive player of the year each day in practice," Edwards said.

As UConn continues non-conference play Edwards has proven to be the best big man off the bench, overshadowing freshman Charles Okwandu and junior Jonathan Mandeldove.

"This definitely helps my confidence; especially putting up a new career high and getting minutes the last few games," Edwards said. "This definitely helps."

With Stanley Robinson and Ater Majok waiting in the wings for mid-December arrivals in Storrs, Edwards knows now, more than ever, he has to prove himself and his worth to the team.

"Gavin is going to have a fight on his hands," Calhoun said. "And the better the fight is, the better it is for UConn basketball, the deeper we can go, the more we can press and run."