MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Christian Vital scored 25 scored points and UConn used accurate-shooting to build a double-digit lead and then hold on for an 80-73 victory over USF in the opening round of the 2019 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship on Thursday.

Jalen Adams added 19 points and six rebounds for UConn (16-16), which moves on to Friday's quarterfinal game against 11th-ranked and top-seeded Houston. 



"(The Huskies) run and their transition offense really put us in a bind," USF coach Brian Gregory said. "We were on our heels in transition."

"I really like the way we guarded," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "Really like the way we played the game completely, especially the first 35 minutes. We were in complete control of the game."

The Huskies shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half to set a new conference record for shooting percentage in a half. UConn's shooting was so accurate, it was still at 70.4 percent (19 of 27) with 15 minutes left in the game, including 10 of 16 from outside the arc.

And Adams missed six of the eight shots where the Huskies misfired.

"It was just a great feeling," Adams said of UConn's accurate shooting, "Especially when it is just do-or-die, and you see everything going in the hoop like that. It's just a great feeling, and you build so much confidence."

Laquincy Rideau led the Bulls (19-13) with 19 points, while David Collins finished with 15 points as USF lost its seventh in the last nine.

What seemed like an insurmountable UConn lead in the second half was jeopardized a bit down the stretch as the Bulls scored eight straight points to pull within 70-63 with two minutes left. Over that span, the Huskies made only one of 10 shots, allowing the Bulls to threaten.

USF pulled within 73-68 on a 3-pointer from Collins with 34.4 seconds left but could get no closer.

"I thought in the second half, we played a lot better," Gregory said. "Just couldn't that lead under 10 until the last four minutes."

The Huskies, who endured a six-game losing streak in February -- all of it with Adams, UConn's leading scorer on the shelf -- have now won three of four.

"To get Jalen (Adams) back, you can obviously see the way offensively things have changed," Hurley said. "He gets so much attention, and he makes the right play so often."

Laquincy Rideau led the Bulls (19-13) with 19 points, while David Collins finished with 15 points as USF lost its seventh in the last nine.

UConn's shooting was so accurate, it was still at 70.4 percent (19 of 27) with 15 minutes left in the game, including 10 of 16 from outside the arc. And Adams missed six of the eight shots where the Huskies misfired.

What seemed like an insurmountable UConn lead in the second half was jeopardized a bit down the stretch as the Bulls scored eight straight points to pull within 70-63 with two minutes left. Over that span, the Huskies made only one of 10 shots, allowing the Bulls to threaten.

USF pulled within 73-68 on a 3-pointer from Collins with 34.4 seconds left but could get no closer.

The Huskies, who endured a six-game losing streak in February, have now won three of four.

UConn used 11 straight points, making five consecutive shots, to build an 11-point lead in the first half. At that point, the Huskies were 11 of 15 from the field. Even after USF stopped the run, UConn continued to connect.

The lead would swell to 18 points near the five-minute mark of the first half, and the UConn shooting percentage was just under 77 percent. That included the Huskies making 9 of 11 from outside the arc in the game's first 16 minutes.

Smith and Vital both made their first four shots with Vital's field goals came from outside the arc.

That helped the Huskies carry a 39-26 lead into the break.