The UConn Huskies men's basketball team hadn't started a conference season at 0-3 since the 1984-85 season. Amida Brimah made sure that didn't happen on Saturday night.
Brimah had career-highs of 20 points and eight rebounds along with five blocked shots to power UConn to an 84-61 over the UCF Knights in front of 9,561 and a nationally televised audience at Gampel Pavilion.
It's the first American Athletic Conference win for the Huskies as they improve to 13-3 (1-2 American). UCF falls to 9-5 (1-2).
Shabazz Napier added a double-double of 14 points and 11 assists for UConn. DeAndre Daniels had 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while Ryan Boatright had 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Isaiah Sykes battled foul trouble but still managed to lead the Knights with 17 points and four assists. Eugene McCrory chipped in with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Tristan Spurlock had 11 points and six assists.
With the game tied at 12, Brimah sparked a Huskies 8-0 run with six points. UCF battled back to cut the lead to one at 22-21. UConn followed that with an 11-1 run to take an 11 point lead and that's what the halftime lead would be for the Huskies at 35-24.
In two previous losses, the Huskies had blown double digit leads and given how the Knights started the second half, with a 7-0 run, it looked like it could happen again.
But Brimah returned to the court and helped the Huskies to a 7-0 run of their own to get the lead back to 11. UCF would get the lead down to six points but that's as close as they would get as Boatright and Brimah would help the Huskies extend their lead to secure their first AAC win.
The Huskies are back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Memphis, TN when they'll take on the Memphis Tigers. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
UCF Knights @ UConn Huskies 1/11/14 box score
Here are UConn's postgame quotes.
Here are UConn's postgame notes.
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photo credit: uconnhuskies.com
