Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of free throws in the final seconds by Jherrod Stiggers proved to be the difference as the Houston Cougars held on for a 70-68 win over the Connecticut Huskies in an American Athletic Conference battle at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Stiggers finished with meeting with 18 points, converting 7-of-9 at the free- throw line, but just 3-of-12 behind the 3-point line for the Cougars (9-12, 1-8 AAC) as they picked up their first league victory of the season. Devonta Pollard and L.J. Rose both added 12 points and LeRon Barnes 11 and six rebounds for a Houston squad that has now won back-to-back outings.

The Huskies (11-9, 4-4) were paced by Ryan Boatright who tallied a game-high 31 points, hitting 5-of-11 shots beyond the arc while also collecting eight rebounds in the setback. Before fouling out Amida Brimah pitched in with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Daniel Hamilton pulled down 14 boards, but shot only 3-of-12 from the field.

Both teams struggled to find the basket in the first half, but even with just 32.4 percent accuracy from the floor the Cougars managed to pull out to a 28-25 advantage at the break. UConn shot only slightly better from the field at a 35.5 percent clip.

The Houston lead grew to 15 midway through the second half, but Boatright and the Huskies refused to give up so easily as they whittled that number down to just two on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Huskies won the rebounding battle by a 51-35 margin, but perhaps the biggest stat of the game showed Houston turning the ball over just a single time, compared to 12 miscues for the visitors.