EAST HARTFORD — UConn’s defense hadn’t stopped Duke the entire second half, but Bryun Parham made sure they got one when it mattered the most.

Parham’s strip sack and fumble recovery of Duke quarterback Darian Mensah with 27 seconds to play sealed the Huskies’ 37-34 win over the Blue Devils in front of the largest crowd (38,106) at Rentschler Field since 2013.

“Coach gave us a call, and I just knew I had to execute it,” Parham said. “I ended up getting free, and I had to go make the play to win the game. I always wanted to make a play like that, and I finally did it.”

It capped a wild second half that saw multiple lead changes, the last of which was the result of a Joe Fagnano 19-yard touchdown pass to Skyler Bell with 1:58 to play in the fourth quarter. Fagnano also ran in the 2-point conversion try on a play that he was initially ruled short on but was reversed upon review.

On the previous play, Fagnano completed a critical 12-yard pass to Juice Vereen on fourth-and-five to get the ball to the Duke 19. It was a game-winning drive that covered eight plays and 75 yards.

“Proud of the offense, proud of the defense, proud of the special teams,” Fagnano said. “Nobody ever wavered. That was a back-and-forth game. All respect to Duke. They’re a really good football team.”

Bell had eight receptions in the first half, but none in the second half until the game-winning drive.

“He’s Skyler Bell,” Fagnano said. “The guy just gets open. They have to put some recognition on that guy’s name. I think he proved it tonight. He’s a heck of a football player. He believes it, he works at it, and I’m proud of him and the way he played.”

Duke (5-4) scored on all three of its previous drives in the second half before the Huskies got the stop to seal the win.

Trailing 20-14 at the half, the Blue Devils drove 75 yards on nine plays, capped by Nate Sheppard’s 3-yard touchdown run.

UConn (7-3) answered back, driving 73 yards on a drive that was sealed by a Chris Freeman 20-yard field goal that made it 23-21 with 6:50 to play in the third.

Duke’s next drive was nearly identical to its first of the half, with Mensah tossing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Landen King on fourth-and-goal to give the Blue Devils the lead back, 28-23, with 3:23 to play in the third.

One of the key plays in the game happened on UConn’s ensuing drive. The Blue Devils’ defense got a stop on third down, forcing a fourth-and-nine for UConn from its own 34. The Huskies went into their bag of tricks, as Alex Honig took the direct snap and raced for 26 yards on the fake for a first down.

That led to a Cam Edwards 3-yard touchdown run to put UConn back in front, 29-28, with 10:48 to play.

“We had it,” coach Jim Mora said. “We saw that we had it the whole game. “We’ve worked on that. We work on it every day for the entire season. The hash mark and the distance to go is what made it right, and the fact that we needed a play, because to continue to put the ball in that quarterback’s hands was very dangerous. We had to make a play, and we just had a high degree of confidence because we worked on it so much.”

Duke marched 80 yards on its next drive, taking a 34-29 lead on Mensah’s 10-yard touchdown pass Jeremiah Hasley with 5:34 to play.

Fagnano threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, a 10-yarder to Vereen in the first quarter and a 4-yarder to Bell in the second quarter. It was Bell’s 12th touchdown reception of the season, breaking a tie with Carl Bond (1998) for the program record in a season. He also eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season with his first reception of the game.

Sheppard had a 13-yard rushing touchdown in the first half for Duke and Mensah a 10-yard touchdown pass to Andrel Anthony.

Parham and Devin Pringle each had an interception in the first half for the UConn defense, matching the total Mensah had all season coming into the game.

Fagnano was 27-of-39 for 311 yards and three touchdowns, while Bell had 11 receptions for 87 yards. Fagnano now has 25 touchdowns without an interception.

“Tonight’s win was kind of a culmination of all the lessons we’ve learned this year in the games we’ve had,” Mora added. “You know, the close games we’ve had, a lot of our games have been close.

“I think it was a testament to the will of our young men; the trust they have in each other and the way they come to work every day.”