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HARTFORD, Conn. -- Ryan Boatright hit a step back 3-pointer with two-tenths of a second on the clock Friday to keep defending national champion UConn's NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 57-54 win over Cincinnati Friday in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals.

Legends are made in March! Ryan Boatright with a 3 at the buzzer to lift UConn over Cincinnati, 57-54 #BoatShow

A photo posted by American Athletic Conference (@american_conf) on

Mar 13, 2015 at 8:29pm PDT

Boatright scored 18 points and Rodney Purvis added 17 for the Huskies (19-13) who likely must win the tournament to earn an NCAA bid.

Troy Caupain had 12 points to lead Cincinnati (22-10) which finds itself on the tournament bubble after the loss.

The 2nd semifinal has been set! @UConnMBB advances and will take on Tulsa tomorrow night pic.twitter.com/lJ6xrutxhH

— American MBB (@American_MBB) March 14, 2015

The Bearcats overcame a five-point deficit over the final 1:25, tying the game when Zach Thomas followed a missed Caupain layup to tie the game with 13.5 seconds left.

After a timeout, Boatright took the inbounds pass and drove down the court, using a jab-step to gain separation and launching the game-winner.