Hartford — As the final seconds ticked off the clock, celebration for a marquee victory was already well underway in the stands filled with giddy UConn men's basketball fans and eventually spread to the floor.

When the buzzer sounded, a smiling Sterling Gibbs flung the ball into the air.

The Huskies pranced their way to the locker room.

They were rewarded for their gritty effort, scoring a valuable 68-62 win over No. 21 Southern Methodist University on Thursday at a sold-out XL Center.

It was their first win over a ranked opponent this season after two previous defeats. It also helped them stay in the American Athletic Conference regular-season title race.

"That was a real great battle," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "I just thought we had fun competing tonight. That's a beautiful thing when you just compete and have fun. Everybody stepped up and played with relentless effort."

Winners of five of its last six, UConn (19-7, 9-4) made the winning plays with poise down the stretch. Amida Brimah put the Huskies ahead for good with an inside basket with 9:05 remaining. After extending the lead to nine, UConn held off a late SMU charge that cut the gap to two with 1:13 left.

Sophomore Daniel Hamilton's leaner in the lane and two free throws iced the win.

"We just lost to a team that happened to make the plays that we didn't," SMU coach Larry Brown said. "They're getting better. That's a tribute to their coach and character of their kids."

There were several Husky heroes.

Brimah had his best game since returning from a broken finger on Jan. 31, finishing with a game-high 16 points, season-best eight rebounds and five blocks. He avoided foul trouble, which has been an issue this season.

"I watched so many games and he has gotten into foul trouble," Brown said. "He impacted the game at both ends. He was phenomenal."

The frontcourt duo of Shonn Miller and Hamilton chipped in 12 and 14 points, respectively. Freshman Jalen Adams carved up the defense with some penetrating drives and contributed nine points.

The Huskies battled under the basket where the Mustangs (21-4, 9-4) have dominated this season. They lost the rebounding battle by only two (35-33) and held a 26-20 edge in points in the paint. They also limited leading scorer Nic Moore, a leading candidate for AAC player of the year, to 14 points.

It was a fiercely competitive and highly entertaining game from start to finish.

The game was deadlocked at 31-all at the break. Every time UConn attempted to pull away in the second half, SMU fought back.

With the crowd roaring its approval, the Huskies gradually extended their lead to nine. Gibbs set up Brimah inside for a basket that broke a 49-all tie.

A stagnant UConn attack suddenly came to life. Adams sliced through the lane and converted a driving basket. Then Brimah dunked home a lob pass from Omar Calhoun.

Hamilton's deep 3-pointer from the top of the key late in the shot clock extended the lead to 64-55 with 3:50 remaining.

But nothing has come easy in late-game situations for the Huskies this season. They watched SMU whittle the deficit to 64-62 on Moore's runner with 1:13 left.

This time, UConn held on for dear life. Hamilton's big basket came with 49 seconds left and increased the lead to four.

SMU, which entered the game ranked fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at .501, shot just 43.1 percent from the field.

"Our defensive effort was great," Ollie said. "We just started buckling down when it was winning moments. ... It was just a good effort from our guys. Now we've got to go down and take care of business at Cincinnati."

It's a quick turnaround for both UConn and Cincinnati, which also played Thursday night. The two former Big East rivals play at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe