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USF falls thanks to late UConn surge

 
HARTFORD, CT - JANUARY 25: Ryan Boatright #11 and Rodney Purvis #44 of the Connecticut Huskies celebrate their 66-53 win against South Florida Bulls during the game at the XL Center on January 25, 2015 in Hartford, Connecticut.  (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) 519908793
HARTFORD, CT - JANUARY 25: Ryan Boatright #11 and Rodney Purvis #44 of the Connecticut Huskies celebrate their 66-53 win against South Florida Bulls during the game at the XL Center on January 25, 2015 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) 519908793
Published Jan. 26, 2015

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn led USF by just two points with 12 minutes left when Ryan Boatright decided enough was enough.

The Huskies' senior guard took the game over, scoring 19 of his 28 down the stretch and leading the defending national champions to a 66-53 win Sunday.

"I just told myself I'm going to be aggressive the rest of the way, and that's what I did," he said. "They gave me shots and I created some shots for myself and I knocked them down."

Rodney Purvis added 17 for the Huskies (11-7, 4-2 AAC) who beat the Bulls (7-13, 1-6) for the second time this month.

Nehemias Morillo had a career-high 18 points for USF, which lost for the fifth straight time, a streak that began with a 58-44 loss to the Huskies in Tampa. Corey Allen added 11.

Connecticut led by 10 at halftime and 12 early in the second half.

But the Bulls used a 9-0 run, capped by Anthony Collins' 3-pointer, to get back into the game and had a chance to tie trailing 39-37 with 12 minutes left.

But Amida Brimah blocked Allen's layup attempt, and the Bulls would not get that close again.

Purvis made two free throws on the other end then Boatright scored the Huskies' next 13. His second 3-pointer during the stretch put the Huskies ahead 54-43.

"When you're as talented as he is and he gets a little groove going, it's hard to stop the floodgates," USF coach Orlando Antigua said. "We tried to change up defenses and give them different looks and they did a great job adjusting."

The team's combined for 41 fouls, 23 by the Bulls, whose big men spent much of the game in foul trouble. Collins fouled out, and Bo Zeigler picked up his fourth foul just two minutes into the second half and played just 23 minutes.

UConn made 22 of 29 free throws. Boatright hit 10 of 11 attempts from the line, and Purvis made 8 of 12. USF was 10-of-16 from the line.

"Game like that, you're going to have, tit-for-tat," Purvis said. "Our main thing is just to stay aggressive."