Hartford, CT (Sports Network) - A.J. Price scored a game-high 21 points and had six rebounds as Connecticut made its free throws down the stretch and defeated 18th-ranked Pittsburgh, 60-53, at XL Center.

Price finished 6-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line, while Jeff Adrien chipped in with 14 points, six boards and four blocks for UConn (16-5, 6-3 Big East), which has won five straight games.

Craig Austrie contributed 13 points, making 3-of-6 shots from three-point territory, in the win.

Pittsburgh (17-5, 5-4) was led by Sam Young, who had a team-high 18 points. The Panthers have dropped three of their last five. DeJuan Blair had a solid game, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in defeat. Gilbert Brown donated 10 points for Pitt.

With the score tied at 22 heading into the second half, the game went on the see-saw for the first nine minutes of the stanza. Blair's layup with 10:52 left gave Pitt at 39-35 lead, but Austrie responded with a three to make it a one-point game.

Neither team could take control of the contest and the back-and-forth affair continued. UConn managed to push ahead by three with 3:50 to go, but the Panthers clawed their way back to tie it up at 51 following a pair of free throws by Blair with 2:32 left.

"Obviously disappointing for us to be in a situation there to win the game at the end," Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said of the loss. "It really got down to them making some big plays and making some shots, to their credit, and they made free throws, as well."

Austrie's triple from the top of the arc put the Huskies ahead 54-51 with 1:42 to play, but Pitt wouldn't go away. Brown was fouled on a three-point attempt and made two of three from the line to make it a one-point game.

However, Price's layup extended UConn's lead to 56-53 with 1:09 left and Pitt was shut out the rest of the way. The Panthers fouled in desperation with the Huskies making their shots from the charity stripe.

"We got off to a bad start, which I thought took a lot of momentum of the game away," Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun said. "Thats why I was upset about Jeffrey (Adrien), who was just magnificent down the stretch, because he is our go-to guy, along with A.J. (Price)."

Pittsburgh got out of the gate quickly, taking a 7-2 lead in the early going, then extended its advantage to 15-8 after a layup by Keith Benjamin with 11:06 left in the opening half.

After a three-pointer by Austrie, both teams went cold from the field, but the Huskies mounted a 9-1 run to end the half and the score was knotted at 22 heading into the break.