National Basketball Association
Connecticut 47, Tulsa 42
When: 5:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 14, 2015
Where: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Officials:
# Brian O'Connell, # Daniel Roberts, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
10114
By SportsDirect Inc.
Connecticut 47, Tulsa 42: Ryan Boatright scored 21 points, including a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining, to lift the Huskies to an American Athletic Conference tournament semifinal victory at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
Boatright made 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and Rodney Purvis scored 11 points, including the go-ahead jumper with under one minute remaining for sixth-seeded Connecticut (20-13), which will meet top-seeded SMU in Sunday's championship game. Freshman Daniel Hamilton hit a 3-pointer late in the second half for his only field goal, but did have 12 rebounds and five assists.
Shaquille Harrison had nine points and James Woodard supplied seven points and nine rebounds for Tulsa (22-10), which missed its final three shots and had three turnovers in the final five minutes. Rashad Ray finished with eight points for the Golden Hurricane, who were 3-of-18 from deep.
Both teams got off to a slow start, particularly UConn, which missed its first seven shots and a pair of free throws in falling behind 7-0 after more than six minutes. Boatright finally broke the seal with a 3-pointer and then hit two more to help Huskies grab a 15-11 lead, but Tulsa responded with a 12-4 run to close the half with a 23-19 advantage.
The Golden Hurricane used an 8-3 to run to take a 40-31 lead with less than six minutes remaining, but layups by Nolan and Purvis and 3-pointers by Hamilton and Boatright got the Huskies even a 41 with less than two minutes left. After Harrison made a free throw, Purvis hit the jumper to give UConn its first lead of the second half and Boatright converted at the line to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Amida Brimah had five blocks to become the fifth UConn player to notch 200 career blocks. ... The Golden Hurricane finished the first half with a huge 25-10 edge in rebounding, including 11-1 on the offensive glass. ... UConn split two games with SMU during the regular season, including a win at the XL Center.
Top Game Performances
Connecticut |
|
Tulsa |
Ryan Boatright 21 |
Scoring |
Shaquille Harrison 9 |
Daniel Hamilton 5 |
Assists |
Rashad Smith 2 |
Daniel Hamilton 12 |
Rebounds |
James Woodard 9 |
Ryan Boatright 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Rashad Ray 3 |
Ryan Boatright 1 |
Steals |
Shaquille Harrison 1 |
Amida Brimah 5 |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Connecticut
|
47 |
36.2 |
7-16 |
6-9 |
9 |
26 |
7 |
1 |
7 |
Tulsa
|
42 |
29.6 |
3-18 |
7-9 |
8 |
32 |
0 |
3 |
8 |