PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The American Athletic Conference saw Wichita State men's basketball run past Rice on Sunday night as the Shockers outscored the Owls, 91-60. Memphis was also in action at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla., where senior Jeremiah Martin joined the 1,000-point club in a close loss to Charleston, 78-75.
RESULTS
Wichita State 90, Rice 61
Erik Stevenson scored 21 points and Wichita State rode a hot start to a 90-61 victory Sunday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
Stevenson is the first Shocker true freshman to top 20 points in a game since Toure' Murry (23 vs. Missouri State) on Feb. 10, 2009. Stevenson's 21 points came on 5-of-9 shooting (4-of-8 from three). He also knocked down 7-of-9 free throw attempts.
Rice (3-4) scored on its first possession of the game, then turned it over on each of the next 10. WSU (3-3) missed its first shot, then connected on 14 of the next 18.
The Shockers used runs of 16-0 and 15-1 to take control. They led by as many as 28 points (40-12) near the five-minute mark of the first half.
Jaime Echenique (6-of-9) scored a personal-best 14 points and recorded a block and two steals. The junior college transfer has swatted at least one shot in each of the first six contests.
Markis McDuffie scored 12 of his 14 points in the first 15 minutes to help the Shockers pull away and tacked on five assists and five rebounds. It was the senior's fifth-straight game in double-figures.
Dexter Dennis added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Ricky Torres posted a team-high five assists in 20 minutes of action. He has yet to turn the ball over in six games as a Shocker, spanning 90 total minutes.
For Rice, Chris Mullins and Jack Williams each scored 12 points apiece.
WSU outshot Rice, 46.9 percent to 37.9 percent. Neither team fared well from deep. WSU hit 8-of-24 (.292) compared to 4-of-26 for Rice (.154).
Memphis 75, Charleston 78
Freshman Tyler Harris scored a career-high 25 points and senior guard Jeremiah Martin became the 52nd member of the program's 1,000-point club, but their efforts weren't enough Sunday night for the University of Memphis.
In the fifth-place game of the AdvoCare Invitational at HP Field House, the Tigers (3-3) dropped a 78-75 decision to the College of Charleston. The Cougars (5-2) were led by guard Grant Riller, who scored a game-high 32 points, and guard Jarrell Brantley, who finished with 19.
Memphis outshot and outrebounded the Cougars, but Charleston was able to get to the free throw line more where it made 17 of 21. Memphis was 8 of 14.
Memphis led by two at the half, but the teams battled back and forth in the second half. Although the Tigers trailed by four (72-68) with 3:34 to go, they battled back and led by one (73-72) after freshman Antwann Jones, an Orlando native, completed a three-point play. He scored on a leaner in the lane and dropped in the free throw.
Two minutes later, Martin scored on a backdoor layup to get to 1,001 career points and give the Tigers their last lead at 75-74.
But Charleston kept battling behind Riller and Brantley, who scored the Cougars' final 18 points. Riller and Brantley made two free throws each in the final minute and a last-second Harris 3-pointer was off the mark to give the Cougars the win.
In the first half, both teams were torrid from beyond the arc. Charleston entered the game shooting 24.4 percent from 3-point range, but made 9 of 13 (69.2 percent). The Tigers made 6 of 12. Memphis led, 42-40, benefiting from 51.6 shooting and 16 points from Harris. Harris made four of his six 3-pointers.
The Tigers built an early 10-point lead, but was unable to maintain it as the Cougars consistently hit from long range. Trailing 36-26 with five minutes left in the half, the Cougars got a trio of 3-pointers from Brevin Galloway in those final five minutes to trim the Memphis lead to two.
Riller and Galloway each made five 3-pointers in the first half and had 15 points each at the break.
UPCOMING GAMES