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HARTFORD, Conn. -- The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought battle at UConn, 62-56, on Saturday at the XL Center.
The Bearcats took a 34-30 lead into the locker room, but couldn't maintain the offensive output in the in the second 20 minutes. UConn held Cincinnati to 22 points in the second half en route to the victory.
The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Bearcats and drops the overall record to 11-4, 2-1 in American Athletic Conference play. UConn has won five of six games to improve to 9-5, 2-1 in the league.
Sophomore guard Troy Caupain (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) led the effort on the road for UC, scoring 14 points while five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Octavius Ellis (Memphis, Tenn./Trinity Valley College (Texas)) added seven points, five rebounds and a career best six blocks. Shaq Thomas (Paterson, N.J./NIA Prep) added eight points and four boards.
UConn was led by 18 points and eight assists from Ryan Boatright. Rodney Purvis joined him in double figures with 11 points, while Omar Calhoun contributed 12 points off the bench for the Huskies.
The game went back and forth, featuring eight ties and six lead changes, before a jumper by Purvis midway through the second half gave UConn the lead for good, 46-45. It marked the seventh consecutive game between the Bearcats and Huskies that was decided by seven or fewer points. The teams meet again at Fifth Third Arena on Thursday, Jan. 29 (8 p.m.).
The Bearcats will remain on the road for their next contest, this time traveling west to face Memphis on Thursday, Jan. 15. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN. Cincinnati returns to Fifth Third Arena on Saturday, Jan. 17, when Temple, which leads the league with a 3-0 mark, visits Clifton. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. For tickets, call 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit BearcatsBasketball.com.