Southern Methodist 73 - 81 1Connecticut
Final
  for this game

Purvis leads UConn past No. 21 SMU

Mar 2, 2015 - 12:55 AM Hartford, CT (SportsNetwork.com) - Rodney Purvis scored a career-high 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting as Connecticut posted an 81-73 win over No. 21 SMU on Sunday.

Ryan Boatright had 23 points and Daniel Hamilton added 16 with seven rebounds for the Huskies (17-11, 10-6 AAC), who have won three straight games.

"The main thing we did is we executed," said UConn head coach Kevin Ollie. "To score that many points against SMU, one of the best defensive teams -- not only in our conference -- in the nation, was a great job."

Markus Kennedy led SMU (23-6, 14-3) with 18 points and nine rebounds. Yanick Moreira scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half for the Mustangs, who were looking to match a school record with an eighth consecutive road victory.

"Offensively we had a hard time guarding them, especially out on the perimeter," said SMU coach Larry Brown. "Hamilton, Boatright, and Purvis, they all kind of got the ball in spots they wanted to."

SMU, which had won five straight overall, will battle Tulsa at home next Sunday for the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

A Kennedy jumper gave the Mustangs their only lead of the game at 53-51 with 8:10 remaining, but Hamilton drained back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 17-4 run.

Purvis got a steal during the burst and was fouled on a layup. He knocked down the free throw to complete the three-point play. Hamilton capped the run with two free throws and UConn led 68-57 with four minutes to play.

SMU pulled to within four with 1:22 left, but UConn sealed the win by making its free throws.

Purvis hit two 3-pointers and added a layup as UConn opened the game on a 10-4 run. The Huskies led by as many as 10 before taking a 32-26 advantage into the break. Moreira nailed a baseline jumper at the buzzer for SMU.

Game Notes

UConn beat SMU for the first time in five all-time meetings ... The Huskies shot 61.9 percent in the second half ... Sterling Brown had 13 points for SMU.






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