On a day in which most of surroundings off the court were atypical, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team delivered its strongest and most complete performance of the season, beating Northeastern 79-54.

A dizzying combination of Minutemen size and athleticism disrupted the Huskies, as UMass forced 20 turnovers, collected 17 steals (A Mullins Center record) and received scoring contributions from 10 of its 11 players which entered the game. The Minutemen held Northeastern — which entered the game shooting 50 percent from the floor — to 37 percent shooting and out-rebounded the Huskies 43-27.

All of this came on a day in which snow blanketed much of Massachusetts and resulted in swaths of empty seats at game time.

The game was originally scheduled to start at 7 p.m. but was rescheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. to accommodate travel concerns for both fans and team personnel. From the outset, it appeared like a situation in which the winning team would need to create its own energy. The announced attendance was 2,918.

The Minutemen wasted little time in taking control of Wednesday’s win.

UMass jumped out to a 10-point lead and maintained a convincing edge over Northeastern throughout the half. The lead fluctuated and rose to as high as 17 points. The highlight of the half came with two minutes, two seconds remaining, when freshman Donte Clark assisted forward Maxie Esho on a thunderous dunk on the fastbreak.

Clark, who was dribbling up the right side of the floor, found Esho with a behind-the-back pass as Esho trailed behind the play in the middle of the floor. Esho took two steps from near the free throw line and soared above the rim, dunking with only his right hand. The play gave UMass a 34-19 lead.

Northeastern cut the deficit to 36-24 entering halftime, but the Minutemen, led by forward Seth Berger, responded right away.

Berger filled the stat sheet, using his ability as a defensive pest (four steals) to irritate the Huskies and create for his teammates. Berger and guard Derrick Gordon combined for nine steals and were the forefront of a UMass burst, as the Minutemen extended their lead as the second half began.

Despite playing only 13 minutes, Berger finished nine points. four rebounds and an assist in addition to the four steals.

UMass played the majority of the second half with a lead that crept as high as 25 points. The Minutemen finished with a whopping 52 points in the paint and scored 27 points off Northeastern turnovers.

The extended lead allowed UMass coach Derek Kellogg the flexibility to play his bench more. No Minutemen starter played more than 24 minutes.

For the second straight game, reserve guard Jabarie Hinds led the Minutemen in scoring. He scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added five assists. Gordon (13 points), Cady Lalanne (12), and Clark (10) joined Hinds in double-figure scoring.

UMass returns to action Saturday, when it travels to Harvard on Saturday to face the Crimson at 2 p.m.

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli