Piscataway, NJ -- (Sports Network) - Jeff Adrien poured in a career-high 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and the 15th-ranked Connecticut Huskies slayed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 79-61, in Big East action at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

"(Rutgers) has always been a chamber of horrors for us, even when we have been successful here," commented Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun. "Tonight, I decided for a lot of different reasons to play more people. The only guy I didn't do that with was Jeff Adrien, because there was no sense in bringing him out (with) how he was playing."

Stanley Robinson scored 18 points and reeled in 13 rebounds, six on the offensive glass, for the Huskies (22-6, 11-4 Big East), who have triumphed in 11 of their last 12 outings. UConn had a 10-game win streak halted by Villanova on Saturday in a 67-65 defeat.

Craig Austrie also added 18 points for Connecticut, including shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Hasheem Thabeet swatted six shots and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two points, helping the Huskies improve to 7-3 on the road.

Earl Pettis provided a career-high 18 points for Rutgers (10-19, 2-14), which is mired in an eight-game losing skid. Pettis was the only Scarlet Knight to reach double-figures in scoring, though Anthony Farmer and Byron Joynes each chipped in with nine points.

"There (are) things you have to do to try and win a game," explained Rutgers head coach Fred Hill. "I thought we played a good first half against a team that's extremely talented and strong. In the second half, the young guys responded well to each run that UConn made. At that point in time you can answer or lose your focus, and we never stopped playing hard."

UConn used a 9-0 burst in the opening half to gain some separation from the Scarlet Knights. Austrie stroked a three-pointer at the nine-minute mark to give the Huskies a 27-16 cushion.

Rutgers closed the half with a 6-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 43-37 heading into the locker rooms.

The Scarlet Knights closed the gap to 47-45 before the Huskies ripped off an 11-0 run. Adrien's jumper with 13:02 remaining made it 58-45 in UConn's favor.

Although Rutgers responded with a 7-0 surge, Connecticut followed up with an identical 7-0 streak, and the score stood at 65-52 with 8:09 to play.

The Huskies finished the affair with a 14-4 flurry that ensured the victory, as the Knights came no closer than a dozen points of UConn in the last five minutes of the matchup.

Game Notes

UConn owns a 31-13 advantage in the all-time series with Rutgers...The Huskies had a hefty edge in rebounding, 41-24, including 17-11 on the offensive end...The teams combined to convert a whopping 14-of-27 three-pointers.