Jonathan Laurent sparked an 8-0, second-half run and Rutgers went on to beat Central Connecticut 75-59 Tuesday night at Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.

Laurent, a freshman forward, sank a jumper to put the Scarlet Knights up 40-36. Moments later, Laurent's 3-pointer gave Rutgers a 45-36 lead. The Blue Devils went scoreless for the next four minutes until guard Jahlil Nails made a layup at the 10:33 mark.

Rutgers kept up the pressure, and the lead ballooned to 21 when guard Mike Williams sank a jumper to make the score 75-54 at the 2:16 mark.

Rutgers (4-5) broke a four-game losing streak while Central Connecticut (0-8) remained winless. Going back to last season, the Blue Devils have lost 26 of 29 games.

Guard Corey Sanders (7-for-9) led the Scarlet Knights with 18 points. Guard Bishop Daniels came off the bench to score 17, and Laurent added 15 on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor.

Guard Austin Nehls and forward Brandon Peel led the Blue Devils with 12 points each. Peel also grabbed 11 boards for Central Connecticut.

The lead changed hands six times in the first half as both teams struggled from the floor. Central Connecticut went 10-for-32 (31 percent) while the Scarlet Knights went 12-for-29 (42.9 percent).

Rutgers took a 28-25 lead into halftime.

The Blue Devils were able to hang around thanks to turnovers by Rutgers and offensive rebounds.

Sanders scored nine in the first half to pace Rutgers, while forward Evan Phoenix and Nails came off the bench to lead the Blue Devils with six first-half points each.

Rutgers wound up shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, while Central Connecticut hit 38.3 percent of its field-goal attempts.