Ryan Boatright stepped to the free throw line with seven seconds remaining and his team trailing by three in his collegiate debut. The freshmen guard promptly hit all three free throws and sparked the #4 Huskies (6-1) in overtime to overcome the #20/22 Seminoles (5-2) 78-76.
Despite giving up a 10-point lead in regulation and having multiple turnovers and missed free throws in overtime, Shabazz Napier's 3-pointer with 68 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Huskies the lead for good and a third place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Napier finished with a game-high 26 points after a season-low four points in Friday's loss to Central Florida. Napier's final three was his sixth of the day and he added five assists in the win that Jim Calhoun described as the team's best performance of the year.
Jeremy Lamb added 19 points and Boatright overcame some questionable fouls down the stretch to finish with 14 points, five of which came in the final seconds of regulation and beginning of overtime. Fellow freshmen Andre Drummond recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and six blocks to make up for missing three free throws in the final minute of play.
UConn almost fell for the second day in a row after holding a double-digit lead in the second half. The Seminoles trailed 48-38 with 15:08 remaining but went on a 17-7 run to take the lead with under two minutes to go. Leonard Hamilton's team seemingly had the game in hand but the Seminoles missed two free throws in the final minute and Michael Snaer's final shot was too soft from the baseline, sending the game to overtime tied at 71
Snaer led the Seminoles for the third day in a row, as he finished with 20 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Bernard James recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds including a 3-point play with 1:29 to give the Seminoles their only lead of the extra session (76-75).
Twenty-one seconds later, Napier hit his clutch shot and after two missed free throws from Luke Loucks, Snaer's final three to win it was off the mark.