Connecticut Is Tested by Rutgers

Connecticut left the Rutgers Athletic Center with its No. 1 ranking intact, barely.

Playing with four fouls, Ben Gordon scored eight of his 22 points in the last 4 1/2 minutes, and the Huskies hung on to beat the Scarlet Knights, 75-74, Tuesday night at Piscataway, N.J.

“This wasn’t luck,” Coach Jim Calhoun said. “It would have been a lot different with one more play by them or one less play by us. We’re pretty good, and Rutgers gave us everything we could handle.”

The Huskies (12-1, 1-0 Big East Conference) won their ninth in a row despite the far-from-dominating performance. Rutgers (7-4, 0-2) led, 65-63, with 4:43 to go on a basket by Herve Lamizana.

“This was a devastating loss,” Coach Gary Waters said. “They didn’t deserve to win here tonight.”

Gordon, who picked up his fourth foul with 7:30 to play, made a three-point basket to give the Huskies the lead for good at 66-65.

Emeka Okafor had 21 points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots for Connecticut. Lamizana had 20 points and Ricky Shields had 19 for Rutgers.

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No. 2 Duke 99, Fairfield 58 -- Chris Duhon had 20 points, nine assists and seven steals for the Blue Devils (11-1), who won their 34th in a row at home.

J.J. Redick of Duke made his 48th consecutive free throw to tie the Atlantic Coast Conference record set by Virginia’s Jeff Lamp during the 1979-80 season. Deng Gai had 18 points for Fairfield (7-4).

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No. 5 Wake Forest 86, Brown 47 -- Eric Williams scored 14 points to lead the Demon Deacons (10-0) to their 23rd consecutive home victory. Luke Ruscoe led Brown (3-9) with 14 points.

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No. 9 St. Joseph’s 71, Richmond 60 -- Jameer Nelson scored 18 of his 32 points in the first half to spark the Hawks (12-0, 2-0 in Atlantic 10) at Richmond, Va. Tony Dobbins led Richmond (8-6, 1-1) with 17 points.

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No. 15 Pittsburgh 78, Virginia Tech 59 -- Julius Page scored 20 points and led a decisive run that helped the Panthers (15-0) win a Big East Conference opener and stretch the nation’s longest home-court winning streak to 35 games. Bryant Matthews had 22 points for the Hokies (7-5).

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No. 21 Wisconsin 79, Indiana 45 -- Mike Wilkinson had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Badgers (10-2) began defense of their Big Ten title with a rout for their 21st consecutive home victory. Sean Cline scored 12 points for Indiana (6-6).

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University of San Diego center Nick Lewis was in satisfactory condition at University of New Mexico Hospital after being knocked unconscious during a scramble for a loose ball in the opening minutes against New Mexico.

Coach Brad Holland said Lewis had a concussion.