UConn Huskies at South Florida Bulls

Napier leads UConn past South Florida 61-56

Napier scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Boatright delivered 11 of 14 during the game-changing surge that turned a nine-point deficit into a 47-38 lead for the Huskies (22-6, 10-5 American Athletic Conference), who beat USF by 43 points in Hartford two weeks ago.

USF (12-16, 3-12) went scoreless for nearly seven minutes while UConn was making its move. The Bulls steadied themselves and gradually climbed back into the game.

Josh Heath made two free throws and a layup to trim UConn's lead to 58-56 with under a minute to go. Napier hit a long 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds remaining to put it out of reach.

Victor Rudd led USF with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Coming off shooting 29.6 percent during a nine-point loss to SMU that knocked them out of the Top 25, the Huskies continued to sputter offensively early against the same team they embarrassed 83-40 on Feb. 12.

Rudd scored eight points and USF overcame a slow start of its own to lead 28-22 at the half, despite shooting just under 36 percent from the field and turning the ball over seven times. The biggest reason was UConn's poor marksmanship (7 for 24, 29.2 percent), with the Huskies' backcourt tandem of Napier and Boatright going 0 for 8 while being limited to a combined five points from the foul line.

The senior, who two seasons ago was a key component of the first USF team to make the NCAA tournament in 20 years, took up where he left off in a 27-point, 10-rebound performance in a lopsided loss at Louisville. But in the end, the Bulls couldn't quite overcome the seven minute drought that followed a 10-2 run that put them up 38-29 with 13 minutes to go.

Niels Giffey made a 3-pointer to begin UConn's big run. Boatright missed his first five shots, but finally got going with a three-point play, followed by a 3-point shot, two free throws and another 3-pointer that finished the 18-0 burst.

Napier, 0 for 4 from the field in the opening half, made three clutch shots down the stretch, beginning with a pair of difficult layups that gave UConn some breathing room after USF pulled within 50-49. His 3-pointer in the closing seconds finished a 6 for 9 second half. Boatright wound up 3 for 11, but made 6 of 7 free throws.

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• TV Channel: UConn at South Florida 2021 College Basketball, week 17, is broadcasted on CBSSN.
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