Three American Athletic Conference men's basketball teams picked up wins on Sunday (Dec. 30).

UConn 69, NJIT 47 - Box Score

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- UConn coach Dan Hurley let out a big exhale after the Huskies final game of 2019.

Christian Vital scored 23 points and Connecticut ended the mid-major portion of its 2019-20 schedule on Sunday with a 69-47 rout of NJIT.

“You feel relief getting through this last ‘buy’ game here, because there's not a whole lot to gain from winning it, and there is a lot to lose from blowing it,” Hurley said. “Now we've got a chance to play for something. Now we've got a chance to play in high-level conference games and we've got a chance to try and move this thing forward.”

Vital hit eight of his 15 shots and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range. He also had five rebounds and four assists.

Brendan Adams added 12 points for the Huskies (9-3), who have won six of their last seven heading into the New Year and American Athletic Conference play. Akok Akok chipped in with seven points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

UConn never trailed against the Highlanders. Akok scored five of the Huskies first nine points and UConn jumped out to a 12-4 lead. Three straight 3-pointers, two of them from Vital, sparked a 13-0 run that gave the Huskies early control of the game at 25-10.

UConn had seven 3-pointers in the half and led 35-20 at the break. They extended that by going on an 14-3 run to open the second half.

Souleymane Diakite had a double-double for NJIT, scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 sophomore also blocked six shots.

“I was really proud of the way he competed and played almost the entire game too. Not a lot of breaks,” coach Brian Kennedy said. “Souleymane's a talented player.”

Zach Cooks, who came in averaging just over 23 points per game, also scored 12 points for the Highlanders, who fall to 3-10.

The Huskies outrebounded NJIT 43-32 which helped them get into their transition game. They outscored the Highlanders 19-3 on the fast break.

Wichita State 84, Abilene Christian 66 - Box Score

WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- Grant Sherfield posted 15 points, shooting a perfect 6-for-6, grabbed 11 rebounds for his first double-double and Wichita State beat Abilene Christian 84-66 on Sunday.

Sherfield scored 11 points after halftime when he grabbed five rebounds blocked a shot and had three steals.

Tyson Etienne added 13 points for Wichita State (11-1), which earned its fifth straight victory. Jaime Echenique added 12 points and Jamarius Burton 11.

Payten Ricks led the Wildcats (7-6) with 19 points, Coryon Mason added 16 points as Abilene Christian lost a five-game win streak.

The Shockers grabbed a 5-4 lead after 2-1/2 minutes and never surrendered it, going up by double-digits late in the first half and staying there the rest of the way.

USF 60, Florida Atlantic 58 - Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Ezacuras Dawson III tossed in 18 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:09 left in the game and USF held off Florida Atlantic 60-58 on Sunday.

After Michael Forrest's layup gave Florida Atlantic a 56-49 lead with 4:05 left to play, Dawson took over the game. The sophomore accounted for a 10-0 run all by himself, hitting two 3s, a layup and a jumper to put the Bulls (7-6) up 59-56 with 1:15 left to play and they held on from there.

Reserve B.J. Mack added 10 points for South Florida.

Both teams shot 44% from the floor, but South Florida made 10 of 20 from 3-point range, while the Owls (8-5) hit just 7 of 23 (30%).

Karlis Silins topped FAU with 12 points.

Kansas State 69, Tulsa 67 - Box Score

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Cartier Diarra hit a crucial 3-pointer in the late seconds of the game that capped off a career-high 25 points along with a team-high seven assists with five rebounds and Kansas State defeated Tulsa 69-67 on Sunday.

Diarra made 8 of 16 shots from the floor, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, as the Wildcats (7-5) collectively shot 38% from the floor and 34% from distance.

Lawson Korita topped the Golden Hurricane (8-5), who ended a three-game road trip and nonconference play, with 12 points.

The Golden Hurricane (8-5) bench led by 10 points from Darien Jackson scored 24 points to help keep Tulsa in the game. Overall, Tulsa managed to post a higher shooting percentage than Kansas State shooting 43% from the floor.

The Wildcats struggled in the early moments of the game but managed to bounce back with several 3s.

Tulsa dominated the paint outscoring the Wildcats 32-20, but the Wildcats outrebounded the Golden Hurricane 40-36.