National Basketball Association
Connecticut 69, South Florida 43
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 12, 2015
Where: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Officials:
# Gary Maxwell, # Mark Schnur, # Zelton Steed
Attendance:
5431
By SportsDirect Inc.
Connecticut 69, USF 43: Freshman Daniel Hamilton had 20 points as the sixth-seeded Huskies rolled past the 11th-seeded Bulls in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Hartford, Conn.
Rodney Purvis added 13 points and Ryan Boatright had 12 for Connecticut (18-13), which plays third-seeded Cincinnati in Friday's quarterfinals. The Huskies hit 11-of-17 from the 3-point line, including a 4-of-5 performance from Hamilton.
Nehemias Morillo had 13 points for USF (9-23), scoring 10 in the final eight minutes. Troy Holston Jr. added 12 points and Ruben Guerrero added six points and seven rebounds.
The Bulls missed 12 of their first 13 shots while UConn built a 17-2 lead midway through the first half. Boatright and Purvis hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Amida Brimah finished a fast break with a dunk for a 25-5 lead with 5 1/2 left but the Huskies scored four points the rest of the half.
Hamilton's third 3-pointer made it 44-25 with 11 1/2 minutes left before a quick 6-0 run by the Bulls - including four straight points from Holston - cut the lead to 13. Boatright and Hamilton answered with consecutive 3-pointers and USF never got closer than 16 the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: USF's 14 first-half points are the fewest points in a half in the two-year history of the AAC tournament. ... The Huskies improved to 7-1 at Hartford's XL Center and 15-2 all-time against the Bulls. ... Brimah finished with nine points, five rebounds and five blocks.
Top Game Performances
| South Florida |
|
Connecticut |
|
Nehemias Morillo 13 |
Scoring |
Daniel Hamilton 20 |
|
Anthony Collins 3 |
Assists |
Ryan Boatright 3 |
|
Ruben Guerrero 7 |
Rebounds |
Phillip Nolan 7 |
|
Jaleel Cousins 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Daniel Hamilton 4 |
|
Anthony Collins 1 |
Steals |
Ryan Boatright 2 |
|
Anthony Collins 1 |
Blocks |
Amida Brimah 5 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| South Florida
|
43 |
31.2 |
3-14 |
10-13 |
5 |
19 |
5 |
3 |
12 |
| Connecticut
|
69 |
54.5 |
11-17 |
10-13 |
10 |
26 |
5 |
5 |
13 |
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