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UConn handles Rutgers

Jan 12, 2011 - 4:30 AM Hartford, CT (Sports Network) - Kemba Walker scored 18 points with six rebounds and Alex Oriakhi added 17 points and 12 rebounds, as 10th-ranked Connecticut downed Rutgers, 67-53.

Oriakhi also blocked four shots in a dominating inside performance. The Huskies (13-2, 2-2 Big East) shot 45.6 percent from the floor and wore down Rutgers early in the second half.

"I kind of liked the way we played," said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. "I really did. This league is a grind league, and you get a team as well-coached as that...They run very good stuff."

Mike Poole recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (10-6, 1-3), who were undone by a 34.5 percent shooting effort and a 3-of-17 performance from beyond the arc.

The Huskies held just a 32-27 lead at the half as each team struggled offensively. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, only one team continued its struggles out of the locker room.

UConn broke open the narrow halftime margin with 12 successive points out of the break. Walker only tallied four of those points and Roscoe Smith's trey in transition made the score 44-27. Rutgers went nearly 5 1/2 minutes without a field goal as Poole's layup with 14:44 to play accounted for the visitor's first second-half points.

The Huskies then scored eight more points in a row to total a 20-2 scoring stretch to begin the second half. One of Walker's three assists found Niels Giffey, who converted an open look from the foul line for a 52-29 lead.

Donnell Beverly rattled up five straight points nearing the midpoint of the second half for a 57-33 lead, and the Huskies cruised the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Connecticut scored 30 points in the paint to 22 for the Scarlet Knights...The Huskies hold a 34-13 series edge...The Scarlet Knights have dropped four of five...Connecticut has won 17 of 18 Big East regular-season matchups versus the Scarlet Knights.