Fifth-year guard Rodney Purvis scored 21 points and freshman guard Christian Vital came up clutch in his hometown arena as Connecticut defeated former Big East rival Syracuse 52-50 in the Tire Pros Classic on Monday night at Madison Square Garden Monday night in New York.

Vital, playing a bigger role on a team that has only eight scholarship players available because of injuries, was fouled by Tyus Battle as they struggled for a rebound with 2.2 seconds left and the score tied.

Vital hit both free throws and Syracuse (5-3) was unable to get off a clean shot as the game ended.

The Orange went almost seven minutes without scoring in the second half and Purvis hit two of his five 3-pointers to give UConn (4-4) a 45-44 lead with 6:18 left.

UConn fell behind 37-26 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game and still trailed 44-35 when center Dajuan Coleman scored with 9:10 to play. That's when Purvis, who scored seven first-half points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field, took control of the game.

After five lead changes and four ties in the first half, Syracuse managed a 23-21 halftime lead when Coleman beat the buzzer and scored on a layup. Guard Frank Howard made the play possible by driving the middle of the lane and then dumping the ball to Coleman on the baseline.

The Orange carried the momentum into the early stages of the second half. Syracuse managed just one 3-point basket in the first half but struck four times beyond the arc in the first nine minutes of the second half.

Graduate transfer Andrew White III, who previously played for Kansas and Nebraska, hit a 3-pointer with 12:10 left to give the Orange a 37-26 lead.

White led Syracuse with 14 points. Jalen Adams scored 16 points for UConn.