Some notes, quotes and observations from UConn’s exhibition opener:

-- Southern Connecticut State University did UConn a big favor on Tuesday. The Owls, who are ranked second in the Division II preseason poll, never backed down and took the lead in the second half.

The Huskies had to fight to earn a 70-62 victory.

They have plenty to work on before Sunday’s exhibition finale against AssumptionCollege in Hartford.

“We’ll get back in the gym,” coach Kevin Ollie said. “I think guys will be a little more coachable, which is a good thing. They haven’t been bad. But you can coach them a little harder now after this kind of performance.”

 -- Ollie used a variety of lineup combinations, starting Ryan Boatright and Rodney Purvis in the backcourt and Daniel Hamilton, Kentan Facey and Amida Brimah in the frontcourt.

The biggest question mark is at the power forward spot. DeAndre Daniels will be hard to replace.

Facey, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, and the 6-7 Hamilton both saw time there. They each had nine rebounds while Brimah, a center, had a game-high 11.

“When your fours get 18 (rebounds) and then Amida got 11, that’s pretty good,” Ollie said. “I don’t think I saw that probably the whole season last year from our front line. That’s a step in the right direction.”

Nine different Huskies saw action overall, with Hamilton playing the most minutes (33) and Lubin the least minutes (seven).

 -- Boatright led the team in scoring (19 points) and turnovers (four). He went just 5-for-14 from the field.

“Boatright is going to be a solid player for us,” Ollie said. “We’ve been through a lot with Boat. That’s the least of my worries.”

 -- Tuesday’s game provided the first look at four newcomers – Purvis, Hamilton, Lubin and Sam Cassell, Jr.

Cassell made the best first impression, coming off the bench to score 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting in 31 minutes. 

“Sam can play,” Ollie said. “He’s going to be a spark for us. He can stretch the defense out. I’d like to see him penetrate on a couple of his threes. But he knows how to play.”

Cassell, a junior college transfer, certainly isn’t afraid to shoot.

“I always have confidence,” Cassell said. “I always think I’m going to make the shot.”

Hamilton showed off his versatility, finishing with four points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He threw two nice lob passes to Brimah for dunks.

Purvis, a North CarolinaState transfer, struggled. He missed his first eight shots and made 2-of-12 from the field overall.

“I’m going to get back in the gym tonight or tomorrow,” Purvis said. “I don’t have any worries about missing shots.”

Lubin, whose primary job this season will be to play defense and rebound, had four boards in limited action. He missed his only field goal attempt and went 0-for-2 from the foul line.

 -- UConn played ugly basketball from the start, committing 21 turnovers and shooting 37 percent from the field and 58.6 percent from the foul line.

But Ollie is more concerned with effort than execution right now.

“We’re not worrying about anybody’s shots right now,” Ollie said. “The only thing we’re worrying about is bringing energy. Some of the players didn’t have the energy that we want.”

As far as positives, Ollie pointed to defense and rebounding. The Huskies held a 55-39 edge on the boards and limited Southern to 31.3 percent.

 -- After playing just five minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Brimah made a big impact in the second half. He scored all of his 12 points and nine of his 11 rebounds after intermission. He also added three blocks.

 -- Southern’s Desmond Williams, the nephew of former Husky Murray Williams, will be a player to watch in the Division II ranks. He had 19 points and nine rebounds.

 -- And here’s one final quote from Purvis: “We’ve definitely got a lot of talent. We’ve just got to find our rhythm. We all know what we do best, but this is our first game. We have more time to get better.”