Gary Clark lost part of a tooth Saturday and also missed time in the second half because of leg cramps.

That doesn't even begin to compare with the damage the Cincinnati forward did to Connecticut's season.

Going 15 of 16 at the foul line and scoring a game-high 25 points, Clark led the 15th-ranked Bearcats to an 81-71 win over the Huskies at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., advancing them to Sunday's championship game of the American Athletic Conference tournament.

"It was already chipped from earlier in the year," Clark said of the tooth, broken off in a collision with Amida Brimah. "I remember coach (Mick Cronin) always yelling at me not to swallow it the first time, so I just tried to run over there and give it to somebody."

But in guarding the 6-foot-9 Clark, the Huskies' post players bit off more than they could chew for the second time in a week. He had 17 points and 14 rebounds on March 4 in a 67-47 win and worked them over in the lane again in a game more akin to the old Big East Conference.

Both teams are former Big East members and established a level of physicality more suited for smash-mouth football. Officials Karl Hess, Mike Nance and Ron Groover might have worn out their whistles during the 2 1/2-hour affair.

The teams combined for a tournament-record 56 fouls, 71 free throws and two technicals. The officials also initiated a whopping seven replay reviews.

"Any foul needs to be called," Cronin said. "If it's a foul, it's a foul. You always have a choice ... don't foul. Those aren't easy games to officiate. Those guys are paid a lot of money. Today, they had to earn their money."

And as a result, second-seeded Cincinnati earned its money at the foul line, a spot that it would normally prefer to avoid. Coming into the game as the 277th-ranked free throw shooting team in Division I at 67 percent, the Bearcats sank 38 of 46, including 28 of 31 in a marathon second half.

Jacob Evans was 8 of 10 at the stripe in finishing with 21 points, and Troy Caupain sank 7 of 8 in an 18-point outing. Off the bench, Jarron Cumberland converted 4 of 6 and ended the day with 11 points.

"We do drills in practice," Caupain said. "It's all about making them. If you don't, you've got to run, so I'm glad we stepped up to the line and did what we were supposed to do today."

That Cincinnati had to keep making them was a tribute to the grit Connecticut (16-17) displayed in its season finale. Down 14 at one point in the first half with key players in foul trouble, the Huskies didn't pack it in, instead rallying within 48-46 on Rodney Purvis' 3-pointer with 13:21 left.

The shot capped a 17-7 run to start the second half, igniting a partisan crowd of 14,177 to a noise level reminiscent of the glory days of not-so-long-ago. But despite Jalen Adams' 20 points, Christian Vital's 18 and Purvis' 10, Connecticut simply couldn't play defense without fouling for any length of time.

"It's hard to win a game when a team goes to the foul line 46 times," Huskies coach Kevin Ollie said. "I thought our guys fought through adversity ... just some unfortunate calls, just didn't go our way."

Neither team made 40 percent of their shots from the field goal, a testament to the level of physicality. The Huskies finished at 39.3 percent and the Bearcats sank only 38.3 percent. In the second half, Cincinnati managed just five buckets in 21 tries.

But all those free throws more than made up for any difficulties connecting from the field. The reward is a third meeting with AAC regular-season champion SMU. The teams split the season series, each defending home court.

The winner receives the AAC's automatic bid and the loser will get an at-large berth.

"If they force you to shoot all jump shots, you're going to lose," Cronin said of the 12th-ranked Mustangs. "You've got to find a way to get some layups and free throws. But it's not easy against them. Their players are very smart."

NOTES: Cincinnati’s 28th win Friday night against Tulsa set a new high for the Mick Cronin era and is tied for the fifth most in program history. ... Ten of the last 13 meetings between Cincinnati and Connecticut have been decided by seven points or less. ... The Huskies' 104-97 four-overtime win over Cincinnati in last season's conference tournament tied the second-longest game in Bearcats history.