Connecticut 57, Cincinnati 54: Ryan Boatright hit a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to keep the Huskies' NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a victory in an American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

Boatright finished with 18 points and his fourth 3-pointer broke a 54-54 tie for Connecticut (19-13), which plays Tulsa in Saturday's semifinal. Rodney Purvis posted 17 points and freshman Daniel Hamilton contributed nine points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Huskies.

Troy Caupain added 12 points and three 3-pointers and Octavius Ellis notched 11 points and seven rebounds for Cincinnati (22-10), which is expected to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Gary Clark supplied nine points and 11 rebounds while Shaquille Thomas posted 10 points and seven rebounds for the Bearcats.

Neither offense did much in the first half as the teams combined to start 2-of-11 and 7-of-28 from the field, but it was the Bearcats who secured a 22-21 lead at the break. UConn center Amida Brimah started the second half with a dunk and a layup but picked up his third foul as the Bearcats regained the lead at 31-25 behind back-to-back buckets by Ellis.

After Purvis made a jumper, the Huskies drilled five straight 3-pointers to gain a 42-39 lead, but Clark's layup got the Bearcats even at 42 with 8 1/2 remaining. Hamilton's deep triple off the glass ended a scoring drought of 4:43 for the Huskies, who led 48-45 with three minutes left before Caupain made a 3-pointer and Thomas had a tip-shot to tie it at 54, setting the table for Boatright, who went 4-of-12 from deep.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bearcats finished with a 37-27 edge in rebounding but committed 11 turnovers to just three for the Huskies. ... UConn defeated second-seeded Tulsa 70-45 on Feb. 12 at the XL Center. ... The teams combined to go 16-of-41 from beyond the arc.