Connecticut 80, Columbia 65: Ryan Boatright finished with 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds as the Huskies knocked down a season-high nine 3-pointers en route to a win over the Lions at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.

Rodney Purvis went 4-of-5 beyond the arc and matched a career high with 21 points for Connecticut (5-4), which halted a stretch in which it had dropped four of five. Amida Brimah bounced back from a scoreless effort in Thursday’s loss to Duke with 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks while Daniel Hamilton contributed 11 points as the Huskies helped themselves by going 15-of-17 from the foul line.

Maodo Lo followed up his career-high 29-point performance in Saturday’s win over Hofstra with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field for Columbia (6-4), which surrendered more than 26 points over its season average. Luke Petrasek was the only other Lion in double figures with 10.

Columbia answered a game-opening 9-0 spurt from UConn with a 25-10 run as the Lions matched their largest lead at 27-21, but Boatright closed the first half strong, scoring his team’s final eight points to send the Huskies into the break with a three-point edge. Lo and Boatright each tallied six points before the first media timeout of the second half, with Columbia’s leading scorer knocking down a 3-pointer to put the Lions in front 46-45 with 16 1/2 minutes remaining.

Terrence Samuel ended a field-goal drought that lasted over 6 1/2 minutes with a jumper midway through the second half and UConn caught fire beyond the arc following an alley-oop dunk from Hamilton to Brimah, connecting on four straight triples to open up an 11-point advantage with just over four minutes left. The lead swelled to 15 moments later on a 3-pointer by Hamilton as the Huskies finished strong.

GAME NOTEBOOK: UConn has won eight of the 10 meetings and not lost in this series since 1976. … Columbia, which gave top-ranked Kentucky its slimmest margin of victory (10 points) on Dec. 10, had lost its previous three games by a total of 12 points. … Both teams hit four 3-pointers, grabbed 13 rebounds, recorded eight assists and shot 16-of-28 from the field in the first half.