ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Marshall and Connecticut lived up to the billing in a St. Petersburg Bowl matchup of teams ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense.

Each team scored only one touchdown and combined for only a single play of at least 20 yards through the first three quarters in what was 16-10 victory for the Thundering Herd at Tropicana Field.

Nick Smith's 33-yard field goal 1:44 remaining in the game provided the final margin and capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 6:35.

Running back Keon Davis churned out each of his team-high 73 yards on the drive.

"It ended up being the kind of game I thought it would," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. "I am proud of the way we finished at the end of the game. We put that long drive together and ran some time off the clock."

Leading 13-7 at halftime, Marshall (10-3) had its chances to at least attain some breathing room in the third quarter.

Instead of opting for a field goal on the first possession of the second half, the Thundering Herd went for it on fourth-and-2 from the UConn 17, but receiver Deandre Reeves was stopped for no gain on a sweep.

On its next possession Marshall crafted its fourth straight drive of at least 10 plays, but Smith's 43-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

"Connecticut is extremely well coached on defense and we knew when we got down into the red zone it would be a battle, and it was," Holliday said.

"But I thought our offense, especially in the second half, drove the ball well."

On the ensuing possession, Bobby Puyol's 52-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the third quarter brought UConn (6-7) to with 13-10.

It was the longest field goal in the Huskies' six-game bowl history.

"Marshall earned the win and we tip our hat to the them," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "It was a heavyweight battle and we threw haymakers for four quarters. It came down to one play here and one play there."

Marshall opened the scoring in the eighth St. Petersburg Bowl, which was played in front of an announced crowd of 14,652.

A 26-yard punt return by Reaves set up Marshall at the UConn 20. Two plays later, quarterback Chase Litton found tight end Ryan Yurachek open in the end zone from 16 yards and a 7-0 lead with 8:10 remaining in the opening quarter.

Reeves, who had a game-high 137 all-purpose yards, was named the game's most valuable player.

"I give all the credit to the other 10 guys on the punt return team," Reeves said. "They made the job easy. Everybody got their hat on one of their guys and I had the easy part."

For Litton, who passed for 218 yards with one touchdown and one interception, the bowl victory concluded a memorable homecoming. The freshman is from Tampa and he had a cheering throng of more than 100 in attendance.

"There was 110 that I know of," Litton said. "I was excited to be coming back to a place where I grew up, but I knew the focus was going to be on football and winning the game."

The Huskies responded on the ensuing possession to tie the score. A 13-play, 75-yard drive was capped by Ron Johnson's eight-yard run with 1:51 left in the first quarter.

The Thundering Herd, which converted 11-of-17 attempts on third down, reclaimed the lead for good when they drove inside the Huskies' 10-yard-line, but had to settle for Smith's 21-yard field goal to make it 10-7 with 8:04 remaining in the half.

"This sends 18 seniors out the right way and jump-starts next season for the returning players," Holliday said.

NOTES: Marshall's Devon Johnson, the nation's sixth-leading rusher a year ago with 1,767 yards, returned after missing the previous five games because of a back injury. He had 38 yards on 10 carries. ... Marshall won its fifth straight bowl game and improved to 10-3. The Thundering Herd became the first Conference USA team to post three straight 10-win seasons. ... UConn dropped to 3-3 in bowl games. ... Marshall previously appeared in the 2011 St. Petersburg Bowl, defeating Florida International, 20-10. ... Among non-Power Five programs Marshall has the best record the last two seasons at 23-4 (.852).