Storrs — UConn's sizzling perimeter shooting display went from impressive to just plain ridiculous on Wednesday.

Especially at the start of the second half when the Huskies, who've struggled from the field for long stretches this season, almost couldn't miss from 3-point range.

Rodney Purvis started the barrage with consecutive 3-pointers. Christian Vital fired in the next two. Then Jalen Adams nailed three straight.

The Huskies converted nine of their first 10 3-pointers to fuel a crazy 33-2 spurt on the way to a 97-51 rout of  South Florida at Gampel Pavilion. They finished with a school-record 16 out of 24 3-point attempts or 66.7 percent, topping the previous mark of 15 made against Hartford in 1997.

The 3-point mark also tied the American Athletic Conference record for 3s in a game.

"I'm happy to be a part of that," Adams said. "I never pictured us making that many 3s but I knew we definitely had the shooters to do that."

The Huskies (11-12, 6-5) won for the fourth time in five games, while the last place Bulls (6-17, 0-12) have dropped 12 straight. They set a team record for most points, most assists (28) and largest margin of victory in an AAC game.

Purvis led a sizzling shooting display, firing in a season-high tying 23 points and making a personal record six 3-pointers out of nine attempts. He's been one of the most productive Huskies in recent games.

The Huskies shot a season-best 62.5 percent from the field overall.

"We were just confident," Purvis said. "We were getting a lot of easy shots so all our shooters had to do was get their feet set and knock down shots. We compete a lot each and every day after practice, the guards, getting up shots. We've been inconsistent but we were able to knock some shots down today."

Adams also hit a career-best six 3s out of eight tries, finishing with 18 points and 10 assists. Amida Brimah added 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Steven Enoch had a career-high 16 points off the bench. Vital added 12 points and five assists, while Juwan Durham had a career-best eight points.

"They played extremely well and played together," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "When we got up, they played the right way."

Major runs at the beginning of each half powered UConn to comfortable leads. The Huskies opened the game with a 17-1 spurt. Then they extended a 10-point halftime lead with a 17-0 run.

It was showtime after that. The Huskies made 10 of 13 from 3-point range in the second half.

UConn has taken advantage of a soft spot in its schedule, as four of the last five games came against teams below the Huskies in the standings.

The Huskies started with a hot shooting stroke, sinking attempts from all over the court while building a 20-point advantage and eventually led 40-30 at intermission.

Adams, the AAC assist leader, set up Kentan Facey and Brimah for dunks. Purvis buried a 3-pointer for the first double-digit lead at 12-1.

The Bulls played like a team on a lengthy losing streak, going just over seven minutes before making a field goal. They converted just one of their first 14 shots and finished shooting 32 percent overall.

When Purvis, who topped his season scoring average by halftime with 14 points, hit another 3, UConn's lead climbed to 24-4 with nine minutes left.

Then the Huskies got too comfortable with their sizable edge. They were careless with the ball, committing nine of their 11 turnovers before the half, and started to rack up fouls.

South Florida found its shooting stroke, going on a 21-7 spurt. Geno Thorpe's two free throws cut the gap to 31-25.

The Huskies finally responded to extend their edge to 10 at the break. They shot their way into a huge lead in the second half and kept going until reaching the finish line. They shared the basketball, assisting on 28 of their 35 field goals.

"Everybody contributed," Ollie said. "We played a great game. Everybody emptied their bucket. It was a complete game."

g.keefe@theday.com