HARTFORD, Conn. _ In the late hours following UConn's win in the quarterfinals, players were asked what the Huskies would have to do to change their results against Cincinnati.
"Just be tough," Rodney Purvis said at the podium. Coach Kevin Ollie nodded his head. Nothing to add.
The Huskies were determined, after the two beatings they took against the Bearcats this season, to show they were tough to complete with them.
UConn showed it was tough, resilient, and had the heart, but in a game of fouls and attrition, the Huskies just did not have enough players. And despite a series of tenacious runs in the second half, they fell a third time to Cincinnati, 81-71, in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament at the XL Center on Saturday.
That puts the wrap on a long, frustrating season for UConn (16-17), the program's first below .500 finish in 30 years, a season full of injuries and excruciating losses that dashed its high hopes early. The Huskies, playing hurt, playing through fatigue, left all they had to give on the court, but came up short against 15th-ranked Cincinnati, which plays regular-season champ Southern Methodist for the tournament title on Sunday at 3 p.m. Both teams are 28-4.
In a game with 52 fouls called, 29 on UConn, the Bearcats scored 29 points at the foul line. Gary Clark had 25 points and nine rebounds, and Jacob Evans had 21, Troy Caupain 14.
For UConn, Jalen Adams scored 20, with a brilliant second half after getting three fouls in the first. Christian Vital scored 18. Kentan Facey, the Huskies' best frontcourt player, fouled out after lasting only 12 minutes on the floor. Purvis' college career ended when he fouled out with 31.8 seconds to go. He scored 10.
The Huskies never had a lead in any of their three games against Cincinnati, falling behind by as much as 26 in the first game, 23 in the second. This game started out with the Bearcats hitting 3-pointers, two by Troy Caupain and on by Jacob Evans. But the Huskies were fighting hard for rebounds and loose balls, and hanging close, down 10-9.
But the officials were calling the game very tight, and that was hurting UConn. Kentan Facey and Jalen Adams both picked up two early fouls, and Kevin Ollie rolled the dice and kept them on the floor. He lost both gambles _ both were whistled a third time.
Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, with a bountiful bench compared to UConn, played 10 players in the early going, and was able to navigate the officiating. UConn, with a young, make-shift team on the floor, remained within a possession, 22-19, with 7:39 to play. But the Huskies frustration was boiling over, and those were a long seven minutes. Amida Brimah was called for a flagrant foul _ Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin told ESPN at halftime that Brimah should have been ejected. Then Rodney Purvis was called for a technical.
With that the series of free throws, the Bearcats pulled away, opening a nine-point lead on Jarron Cumberland's 3-pointer, and a 14-point lead on Caupain's jumper. The Huskies were down 41-29 at the half, the officials, who had called 14 fouls on each team, left the court to loud booing.
Three fouls or no, Ollie put Adams and Facey back on the court to start the second half. Facey scored five quick points and Vital four, and within four minutes, the Huskies were within five points. But Facey picked up his fourth in a scramble for a loose ball with 15:30 left.
Purvis, trapped with the shot clock running out, flung up a prayer, off the glass and in it went to keep the Huskies within five. Then Purvis hit another, more conventional 3, to make it 48-46. Adams' bid to give UConn the lead on the next possession rattled in and out, and Clark completed a three-point play at the other end to give the Bearcats a 51-46 lead.
Adams drove and scored to pull the Huskies within four, but Caupain hit a crucial to give Cincinnati a 62-55 lead with 5{ minutes left. Then after a UConn miss, Evans hit a 3 to put the Bearcats up 10 with 4:58 left.
Still, UConn wouldn't go quietly. Adams scored again, completed a 3-point play, and after a stop, he got to the line again and made both to make it a five-point game again with four minutes to go.
