By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer

WASHINGTON - Maryland rolled to its sixth straight victory, and Lonny Baxter earned the trophy he coveted.

Baxter had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Juan Dixon scored 16 points as No. 3 Maryland pulled away in the second half to beat Connecticut 77-65 Monday night and win the BB&T Classic.

Baxter, who went 8-for-10 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line, was an overwhelming selection as tournament MVP.

"It's my senior year, I'm from D.C. I really wanted this MVP trophy tonight," the 6-foot-8 center said. "I just came out playing my hardest and we got the game."

And Baxter got a keepsake from his final appearance in the four-team tournament.

"He deserved it," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "He was just a warrior out there for us the whole night."

The Terrapins (6-1), unbeaten since opening the season with a loss to Arizona, used a 16-4 run to expand a two-point halftime lead to 52-38. Baxter and Tahj Holden each had six points in the spree and Dixon contributed two baskets.

On Sunday, Maryland used a big second half to overcome a 13-point deficit against Princeton in the tournament opener. The Terrapins employed the same formula against Connecticut, even though they never trailed after the opening two minutes.

"That's obviously one of the best teams in the country," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "They're tough to beat because of their size and because they shoot the ball well, but I was most impressed by the way they played so well with each other. Maryland gave our kids a good lesson on how to play team basketball."

Caron Butler scored 20 points for the Huskies (3-1), now 10-10 under Calhoun against Top 5 teams.

After Baxter scored on an alley-oop pass from Steve Blake to put Maryland up 46-38, Holden hit two straight jumpers and Baxter followed with a layup to put Maryland up by 14.

UConn closed to 60-53, but after Dixon scored in the lane and Baxter added two tree throws, the Huskies never got closer than nine points.

"Right now I think we're just playing 33 minutes of basketball where we need to be at 40 minutes," Maryland forward Byron Mouton said. "We have spurts, but we also get unfocused and have mental lapses."

Dixon went 2-for-13 from the field in the first half and finished 5-for-18.

"I struggled this tournament but I'll go home and get in the gym," Dixon said. "Hopefully the next game I'll have a better percentage. You're not going to have a good shooting day every day."

Holden scored 15 points, and Blake had eight points and nine assists.

UConn missed its first seven shots and had five turnovers in the opening five minutes, but Butler scored 12 points to bring the Huskies within 36-34 at halftime.

After the Huskies made two foul shots off the opening tip, Baxter scored seven straight points during an 11-0 run. Dixon capped the surge with two free throws following a technical foul called against Calhoun.

"We just weren't ready to play. You can't start like that and expect to win," Huskies forward Johnnie Selvie said. "We let Baxter get off to a good start, and when that happens, he'll hurt you."

But the Huskies came back from a 21-7 hole in a hurry, getting five points from Butler in a 13-0 burst over a four-minute span.