BOSTON — Cam Spencer scored a team-high 18 points and No. 1 UConn dominated the offensive glass to beat fifth-seeded San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a meeting of East Region teams in the Sweet 16.Spencer added five rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Huskies (34-3), who grabbed 21 offensive boards that led to 12 second-chance points.Tristen Newton chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds, and Stephon Castle supplied 16 and 11, respectively, as UConn became the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida did so in 2007.The Huskies downed the Aztecs 76-59 in last year’s national championship game.Jaedon LeDee paced San Diego State (26-11) with 18 points and eight rebounds. Micah Parrish had 10 points as the Aztecs’ only other scorer in double figures.San Diego State was outshot 46.2 percent to 36.2 percent from the field.Lamont Butler trimmed the Aztecs’ deficit to 42-33 with 18:48 left in the game, but that was the last time San Diego State would ever be within single digits.Newton then dropped in a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 burst, a rally that was capped with four points from Castle for a 51-35 cushion.
