PROVIDENCE, R.I - The American Athletic Conference saw No. 21/20 Houston, -/rv UCF and USF all extend their win streaks in the past two days as The American continued its strong showing in the men's basketball nonconference schedule. Houston, now one of just six undefeated in the country, boasts an 11-game win streak - the longest in the nation. UCF earned its fourth-straight victory while USF has now won five-in-a-row.
Friday, December 21
-/rv UCF 77, Illinois State 56
In its final non-conference tune-up, the UCF men's basketball team had one of its best performances of 2018, dominating visiting Illinois State to the tune of a 77-56 victory Friday night at CFE Arena.
It was the Knights' (10-2) most dominating first half of the season thus far as UCF scored the first eight points of the game and held the Redbirds (7-6) down possession after possession to build what seemed an insurmountable 43-18 lead at the break.
Illinois State's 18 first half points were the least of any UCF opponent in a half this season. The Knights held the Redbirds - who came in averaging over 77 points per game and shooting just under 44 percent from the floor - to just seven field goals on 29 percent shooting.
UCF extended its lead to as much as 29, at 52-23 on one of Aubrey Dawkins' five threes in the contest, but the Redbirds didn't give up.
Illinois State cut the UCF lead down to just 13 points before Ceasar DeJesus found Collin Smith in the lane for a layup and BJ Taylor knocked down a three on the ensuing possession. The 18-point cushion was enough for the Knights to cruise to victory.
The Knights had 14 assists in the game, led by Taylor's game-high five, but what was even more impressive was that UCF finished with just eight turnovers. Somewhat of a problem in past seasons, the Knights have taken care of the ball in the early part of 2018-19, totaling single digit turnovers in four of their last seven outings.
UCF was also able to turn the Redbirds over, outscoring Illinois State 22-8 off of their 16 miscues. The Knights had a season high nine steals, including two each from Taylor, Chad Brown and Frank Bertz.
Taylor scored 15 points in the win, but it was Dawkins who led the way for the second straight game, finishing with 18 points on a season-best five three-pointers. The redshirt junior has now scored in double figures in each of his first 12 games as a Knight, a program first.
UCF had four players in double figures, as Smith finished with 12 and Tacko Fall totaled 11 points to go with a season-high 12 rebounds. It marked his second double-double of the season and the 20th of his career.
The Knights head into the holiday break at 10-2 with both of their losses coming on buzzer-beaters.
USF 83, Alcorn State 44
Justin Brown tied a career-high with 16 points and Alexis Yetna secured his league-leading fifth double-double of the season to lead USF to an 83-44 victory over Alcorn State Friday evening at the Yuengling Center.
Brown finished 6-for-8 from the field and made all four of his three-point attempts to help USF win its fifth consecutive game for the first time since 2007. Yetna added 16 points and 11 rebounds, including nine offensive, as USF finished with a season-high 51 rebounds and outrebounded Alcorn State by 20.
Antun Maricevic scored a career-best 11 points and had six rebounds and Mayan Kiir finished with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Deshawn Anderes paced Alcorn State with 12 points and seven rebounds and was the only Brave in double figures.
USF (9-2) used a 26-8 run over the final 9:37 of the first half to turn a two-point lead into a 20-point advantage at halftime. The Bulls then scored the first 10 points of the second half, including eight from Brown, to take a 53-23 lead less than four minutes into the half.
USF would go on to lead by as many as 43 points en route to its largest margin of victory under head coach Brian Gregory.
Friday was the first time since 2012 in which USF had at least 50 rebounds. USF also held Alcorn State to only two 3-poiners. The Braves opened play averaging 8.8 per game. Additionally, USF finished with 21 assists and limited Alcorn State to only six.
Tulane 55, Towson 73
The Tulane men's basketball team dropped its third straight neutral site game in a 73-55 setback against Towson in the first game of the 2018 Boardwalk Battle Friday evening at Boardwalk Hall.
Freshman Connor Crabtree led Tulane (4-7) with his second straight double-figure scoring game with 13 points to go with a career-high five steals off the bench. Redshirt junior Samir Sehic contributed 10 points and six rebounds.
Brian Fobbs paced Towson's (4-7) four double-digit scorers with a double-double comprising 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Green Wave shot just 18-for-47 (.383) overall and 6-for-20 (.300) behind the 3-point line, while the Tigers shot a combined 27-for-60 (.450).
Towson owned a 36-20 scoring advantage in the paint and 20-3 on second chances, while Tulane held a 21-19 edge off the bench and a 13-12 margin off turnovers.
Towson opened upits first 10-point lead of the night, 46-36, on a layup with just under 11 minutes left in the game, but five straight points by Crabtree on a 3-pointer and fast-break layup on the Green Wave's next two possessions cut the deficit to just seven.
That was the closest the Wave would draw for the remainder of the contest, as the Tigers went on a 15-6 scoring run covering the following four minutes to build a 63-47 advantage with less than five minutes to go.
Despite a season-high nine steals by the Green Wave, Towson owned a 46-22 advantage on the glass for the evening.
Tulane scored the first six points of the game, but the lead would change seven times with five ties in the first half. Towson held a 31-29 edge at halftime.
The Green Wave shot 10-for-26 (.385) overall, 3-for-11 (.273) beyond the arc and 6-for-8 (.750) at the free throw line in the first half, while the Tigers made 13 shots at a 43 percent clip and outscored the Wave 10-3 on second chances and 6-0 on the fast break in the opening 20 minutes.
No. 21/20 Houston 60, Utah State 50 - Thursday
Junior guard Armoni Brooks scored all of his 15 points in the second half, and No. 21 Houston overcame a sluggish first half to rally past Utah State 60-50 on Thursday night inside the Fertitta Center in a game presented by Maintenance Supply Headquarters.
Brooks shot 5 for 10 in the second half and led the way as the Cougars (11-0) came back from a 10-point halftime deficit for their 24th consecutive home win. DeJon Jarreau had 10 points off the bench for Houston, which shot 32 percent from the field, including 39 percent in the second half.
Dwayne Brown Jr. had 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Quinn Taylor added 14 points and nine rebounds for Utah State (9-3), which shot 37 percent from the field but was 5 for 19 in the second half. Utah State lost its 15th straight against an AP Top 25 opponent.
Houston opened the second half by outscoring the Aggies 29-10 over the first 12 1/2 minutes to open up a 50-41 lead on Brooks' 3-pointer. Brooks had all of his points in the run.
The Aggies cut it to 52-47 on a free throw by John Knight III with 4:49 remaining, but got no closer as Houston finished the game with an 8-3 spurt.
Utah State used an 11-0 run in the first half to take a 29-16 on Taylor's dunk with 4 minutes remaining. Utah State led 31-21 at the half as the Cougars shot a dismal 7 of 30 from the field.
The Aggies fell to 16-100 all-time against AP Top 25 opponents. Utah State finished with 17 turnovers, which Houston turned into 17 points. The Aggies shot 10 of 14 from the free throw line but 4 of 20 from the 3-point line, including 1 of 10 in the second half.
The Cougars used a strong defensive effort in the second half to mount the comeback, holding the Aggies to 3-for-14 shooting during their large run and forcing six turnovers over that span. Houston shot 13 of 15 from the free throw line to help overcome sluggish shooting from the field.
UPCOMING GAMES