Memphis 75, Connecticut 72: Kedren Johnson led the way with 21 points and six assists as the Tigers jumped out early and held off the visiting Huskies.

Austin Nichols collected 16 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks as Memphis (16-10, 8-5 American Athletic Conference) squeezed out its second straight victory to keep its shrinking bubble hopes alive. Markel Crawford added 14 points, and Avery Woodson scored 11 for the Tigers.

Freshman Daniel Hamilton scored a season-high 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds but had a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer bounce off the rim for Connecticut (14-11, 7-6), which has dropped back-to-back games. Amida Brimah added 19 points and 12 rebounds while AAC leading scorer Ryan Boatright was held to seven points on 2-of-6 shooting.

Nichols scored to push the lead to 55-40 with just under 13 1/2 minutes left before UConn began to crawl back into the game, eventually cutting it to 64-60 on Boatright’s steal and dunk with under three minutes left. Nichols found Woodson for a backdoor layup to push the advantage back to seven points with 57 seconds remaining, and Memphis withstood a late push before closing it out at the line.

The Tigers used a 16-2 run to grab a 21-8 lead 8 1/2 minutes into the game but settled for a 39-33 halftime lead as Hamilton helped the Huskies get back into the game. Crawford scored five straight points early in the second half to help Memphis push the advantage back to double figures

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boatright went down in the first half with an apparent injury and went to the locker room before returning later in the period and playing the rest of the game. … Nichols (ankle) returned from a two-game absence and has totaled 20 blocks in his last three contests. … Rodney Purvis added 11 points for Connecticut but went 1-of-7 from 3-point range while the Huskies struggled to 5-of-20 from beyond the arc.