Tristen Newton had a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.
HOUSTON -- UConn topped off one of the most impressive March Madness runs in history Monday night, clamping down early and breaking it open late to bring home its fifth national title with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State.
UConn built a 16-point lead late in the first half, only to see the Aztecs trim the lead to 5 with 5:19 left. But Jordan Hawkins answered with a 3 to trigger a 9-0 run and the only drama left was whether UConn would cover the 7½-point spread and go six for six with double-digit wins. They went from leading by four to trailing by 11, and when they weren't getting shots blocked or altered on the inside, they were coming up short -- a telltale sign of a team that was out of hops after that draining 72-71 buzzer-beater win over Florida Atlantic two nights earlier.
Even with that brief bout of uncertainty midway through the second half, UConn never truly let the Aztecs, who overcame a 14-point deficit in the semifinal, start thinking about any more last-second dramatics. They didn't even think much about 3-point shooting at the start, instead skip passing into Sanogo on the post and wearing down SDSU while building the early lead.
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