HARTFORD, Conn. - Gary Clark had 25 points to lead No. 15/18 Cincinnati to an 81-71 victory over UConn in the second semifinal of the Frontier Communications American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship.
Clark was 5-for-9 from the field and 15-of-16 from the free throw line and the Bearcats as a team were 38-for-46 from the charity stripe. Jacob Evans added 21 points and Troy Caupain finished with 18 as Cincinnati (29-4) won its first game in four tries against UConn in the conference tournament.
The Bearcats built a 14-point lead in the first half but UConn (16-17) battled back in the second half pulling within two after back-to-back Rodney Purvis three-point shots. Clark responded with a three-point play to increase the lead to five and UConn would never get closer than four for the rest of the game.
Jalen Adams led the Huskies with 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting and Christian Vital added 18 points. Rodney Purvis had 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Cincinnati will play the top-seeded SMU Mustangs for the American Athletic Conference championship Sunday at 3:15 p.m. on ESPN.