PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference earned its third win over a ranked team on Saturday as Tulsa improved 2-0 this week against Big 12 foes with a 47-46 victory over No. 16/15 Kansas State. It was one of five American wins as -/rv Cincinnati won the crosstown shootout against Xavier, 62-47, rv/rv Houston moved to 8-0 with a win over Oklahoma State, 63-53, -/rv UCF downed Grambling, 70-45, and Memphis shot past UAB, 94-76.
Saturday, December 8
Tulsa 47, No. 16/15 Kansas State 46
Curran Scott scored a season-high 14 points and Tulsa held No. 15/16 Kansas State scoreless over the final 2:24 to defeat the Wildcats, 47-46, on Saturday afternoon at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Scott went 6-of-10 from the floor for the Golden Hurricane (7-3), who picked up its first win over a ranked opponent since 2016. TU improved to 7-0 at home and downed its second-straight Big 12 Conference foe after defeating Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Tulsa held the Wildcats (6-2) to just 30.5-percent shooting and outscored K-State in the paint, 28-20.
Kansas State was led by a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds from Xavier Sneed.
Sneed hit a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch for K-State, the second of which gave the visitors a 46-45 lead with 2:24 on the clock. That would prove to be the final basket for the Hurricane as the Wildcats had two turnovers and would not attempt another shot until the final seconds.
TU took the lead when Martins Igbanu scored inside with 1:53 left on the clock. The score would stay the same over the final 113 seconds.
With only three team fouls against it, Tulsa fouled twice in the final 14 seconds and held on as the Wildcats attempted two shots near the rim in the final four seconds. Barry Brown's layup was off the mark and Kamau Stokes corralled the offensive rebound, but his shot as time expired rimmed out and the TU student section rushed the floor to celebrate the team's 13th consecutive home victory.
Prior to the game-deciding stretch, Tulsa led by as much as five points in the second half twice, but could not pull away.
After the Wildcats went ahead 35-32, the Hurricane went on an 8-0 run to grab a 40-35 edge with 7:45 remaining.
Igbanu started the run with a layup before Jeriah Horne scored inside. Elijah Joiner then drove in for a bucket and Sterling Taplin capped the run with a steal and pass to Scott for a layup that brought the crowd to its feet and force the Wildcats to call timeout.
TU again had a five-point advantage, 45-40, on Horne's 3-pointer with 4:19 on the clock, but Sneed's back-to-back triples set the stage for the thrilling final minutes.
Cincinnati 62, Xavier 47
The Bearcats dominated Xavier 62-47 Saturday before a sellout crowd of 12,513 fans at Fifth Third Arena in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout and while UC shot a far more respectable 40.7 percent, it was the defense that Cronin talked about back on Nov. 7 that made the difference.
The Bearcats held the Musketeers 32 points below their season average of 79.3 and limited them to 35.3 percent shooting from the field. Unable to get the ball inside with any consistency, Xavier attempted 25 three-point shots, but made only five on the way to their lowest point total since they suffered a 51-47 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 28, 2012.
UC (9-1) has won nine in a row since dropping that opening game to the Buckeyes. The Bearcats led the Xavier series 51-35. The Musketeers (6-4) saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.
Junior guard Jarron Cumberland led UC with 19 points. Sophomore guard Keith Williams added 16 and junior forward Trevon Scott contributed a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Justin Jenifer scored seven points with nine assists and committed only one turnover in 29 minutes. UC out-rebounded Xavier 36-30 and committed only five turnovers to Xavier's 12.
Naji Marshall, Xavier's leading scorer entering the game with a 13.6-point average, scored eight points on two-of-13 shooting. Tyrique Jones, who averaged 11.3 points, managed only two points and took only three shots.
Xavier was holding its own on the glass in the early going, but before long the Bearcats asserted themselves as the more physical and more aggressive team.
The Musketeers led 18-14 after a span during which UC missed seven of eight shots. Then the Bearcats' defense took over. UC went on 12-0 run to take a 26-18 lead with 2:52 left. Xavier missed 11 of 12 shots, going nearly seven minutes without scoring before a Zach Hankins dunk ended the drought.
Xavier recovered to get within six at halftime and trailed by only four during the first minute of the second half before UC slowly began to pull away. The Bearcats used a 9-2 run at the start of the second half to take a 37-26 lead on Cumberland's three-pointer with three seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Two baskets by Scott gave the Bearcats a 48-34 lead with10:02 remaining.
Cumberland's driving layup against Ryan Welage spread the lead to 52-36 with 6:28 to go. Steele was then called for a technical foul and Jenifer made two free throws. When Scott scored following a Marshall free throw, UC owned a commanding 58-38 lead with 4:40 remaining.
rv/rv Houston 63, Oklahoma State 53
Houston junior guard Armoni Brooks led all players with 23 points as the Cougars took a 63-53 win over Oklahoma State inside Gallagher-Iba Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Brooks enjoyed his fourth 20-point game of the season, thanks to 7-of-13 shooting from the 3-point line, tying his personal best for 3-point field goals made.
The Round Rock, Texas, native also tied with senior forward Breaon Brady for team-high honors with eight rebounds in the first meeting against the Cowboys since 1965. Brooks entered Saturday's game as the team leader with 6.7 rebounds per game but has averaged 9.8 boards in his last four contests.
With the win, Houston improved to 8-0 this season. The 2018-19 Cougars became just the third team in school history to start 8-0 and the first since 1969-70.
Houston also enjoyed its first victory in Stillwater, Okla., after falling in their previous eight tries. Oklahoma State dropped its third straight and fell to 4-5.
Oklahoma State jumped out to an early lead, but with the score tied at 24-24, the Cougars closed out the first half on a 12-6 run.
The Cowboys erupted out of the locker room with the game's first seven points and took a 37-36 lead when Isaac Likekele sank a 3-pointer with 17:24 remaining, prompting a timeout from Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson.
After both teams trade turnovers, Brooks gave the Cougars the lead for good with his first 3-pointer of the final period and padded that cushion following an OSU miss and Brison Gresham defensive rebound.
Oklahoma State cut the lead down to 47-45 following a Lindy Waters 3-pointer with 12:01 remaining, but senior guard Corey Davis Jr. and redshirt freshman forward Cedrick Alley Jr. drained baskets to extend the Houston lead.
That would be as close as the Cowboys would get the rest of the way.
Davis finished with 14 points and three 3-pointers with seven rebounds and three assists, while Brady posted 10 points with eight boards. Senior point guard Galen Robinson Jr, led all players with nine assists and added five rebounds.
-/rv UCF 70, Grambling State 45
The UCF men’s basketball team outscored visiting Grambling State 40-22 in the second half and pulled away from the Tigers in the second half to win 70-45 and improve to 7-2 on the season.
UCF (7-2), coming off of a tough road overtime loss at Missouri, got back to its winning ways thanks to another impressive defensive performance. Grambling State (4-5) came into Saturday averaging 78.4 points per game, but could only muster 45 against the suffocating Knights defense.
The effort was certainly there on the perimeter. Through their first eight games, Grambling State was shooting 43.2 percent from beyond the arc. On Saturday, the Tigers managed to connect on just three of 16 attempts from three-point range, or 18.8 percent.
It wasn’t much easier on the inside, as UCF big man Tacko Fall finished the game with five blocked shots. Fall, who had six last weekend at Missouri, came into Saturday’s contest leading The American with 3.1 blocked shots per game. He’s now just three away from becoming the program’s all-time leader in blocks.
Offensively, senior BJ Taylor led the way with 21 points on a trio of three-pointers. The point guard was also 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
Taylor helped extend UCF’s 30-23 halftime lead as he and Aubrey Dawkins each scored five points in the Knights’ 10-0 run that made it 42-27 in favor of the Knights just over seven minutes into the second frame.
UCF continued to increase its lead, taking a 55-36 advantage when Frank Bertz knocked down one of his two three-pointers on the day. The junior college transfer, who made a number of energy plays off the bench, ignited the crowd with a tip dunk under the five-minute mark that put UCF up by 20.
Bertz finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. The junior guard also added five rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end, and had one steal.
Memphis 94, UAB 76
Memphis rode torrid first-half shooting, a game-high 24 points from Tyler Harris, and 21 from Kyvon Davenport in 25 minutes to defeat UAB, 94-76, Saturday at FedExForum.
Harris made four of 10 from beyond the arc, 10-of-11 free throws and dished out five assists. It was his fifth game this season scoring 20 or more points.
Davenport came off the bench to make his contributions, which included eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior guard Jeremiah Martin added 14 points and five assists. He had some key baskets down the stretch.
The Tigers built a 19-point lead in the opening half as they shot 62.1 percent, including 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. They struggled to match that accuracy in the second half, missing six of their first seen 3-point attempts, but recovered in time to post a double-digit victory.
Memphis (5-4) finished with 18 assists and forced 17 turnovers. The Tigers shot 53.6 percent, a season high.
Davenport, a starter last season and to being this season, said he has enjoyed his role coming off the bench. He started the first four games of this season.
Despite leading by 10 at the half (and by as many as 19 in the opening half), the Tigers were unable to maintain a double-digit lead in the second half.
UAB gradually trimmed the deficit to as few as four points (63-59) after putting together a 9-0 run midway through the second half.
The Tigers regrouped behind Alex Lomax, Davenport, Harris and Martin. The foursome combined for all the points in a late 13-6 run that gave Memphis an 81-68 lead with 4:18 to go. A Martin 3-pointer from the deep left wing gave the Tigers an 85-70 lead with 2:47 left.
In the first half, the Tigers used 62 percent shooting – including going 8-of-12 from beyond the arc – to grab a 49-39 lead at the break. Harris had three treys and nine points at halftime.
Behind the torrid shooting, the Tigers built a 19-point advantage (41-22) with 6:34 to go in the first half before UAB began chipping away at the lead behind leading scorer Zack Bryant. Bryant, who missed the team's previous game, had back-to-back treys and a driving layup in the final four minutes. His layup allowed the Blazers to closer the gap to seven points (44-37).
UConn 71, No. 11/11 Florida State 79
Redshirt sophomore Alterique Gilbert poured in 24 points while Jalen Adams and Tarin Smith added 15 and 12 point each, respectively, but UConn's late second-half rally came up short as the Huskies fell to No. 11 Florida State, 79-71, on Saturday night in the Never Forget Tribute Classic. The Huskies drop to 7-3 while Florida State improves to 8-1.
Adams knocked down a three while Vital and Polley each scored a bucket inside as UConn jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, but Florida State fought back to take a one-point lead by the second media timeout. Sidney Wilson and Kassoum Yakwe helped the Huskies regain the lead, 22-17, but the Seminoles used an 11-2 run over the final 5:16 to head into the intermission with a 39-33 advantage.
The Huskies struggled to find a bucket through the first 10 minutes of the second-half and FSU used a 6-0 run of its own to double its lead to 45-33. UConn trailed by as many as 15 in the half, but the Huskies continued to claw their way back, using a back-to-back triples from Adams and Gilbert to cut the deficit to 63-56 with about seven minutes left in regulation.
Florida State pushed its lead back to 10 (68-58) with 4:17 to go, but a second UConn push allowed the Huskies to come within five points (72-67) with less than 80 seconds remaining in the game. Unfortunately, UConn couldn't get completely over the hump and FSU sealed the game at the charity stripe to leave the Prudential Center with an eight point win.
Gilbert notched a career-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
The Huskies held a 19-9 advantage on fast break points, registered more points off turnovers (18-16) and scored 30 points in the paint.
Wichita 48, Oklahoma 80
Markis McDuffie scored his 1,000th career point, but Wichita State otherwise struggled offensively in an 80-48 loss to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
McDuffie – playing his 100th career game -- finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The senior forward from Paterson, N.J. came into the day needing just 10 more points to become the 47th member of WSU's 1,000-point club. He reached that mark at the 9:47-mark of the first half on a three-pointer.
Freshman guard Erik Stevenson tallied eight points, five rebounds and a pair of steals off the bench for WSU (4-4).
Jaime Echenique put up seven points, four rebounds and a block. He's swatted at least one shot in each of his first eight games as a Shocker.
Christian James and Miles Reynolds paced Oklahoma (8-1 and receiving votes in the latest AP Poll) with 14 points each. James also pulled down 13 rebounds.
WSU ended at 24.2 percent from the field – its worst team percentage in over 20 years – on 15-of-62 shooting. The Sooners entered the day ranked among the nation's top-25 in field goal percentage defense.
OU outrebounded the Shockers 52-33 – the worst margin in 12 seasons under Gregg Marshall.
The Shockers forced 18 Sooner turnovers (matching their season-high) but committed 15 on the opposite end.
WSU's 48-point performance came on the 10th anniversary of its last sub-50-point game – a 57-48 loss to TCU on Dec. 8, 2008.
The Shockers trailed by eight at halftime, 35-27, despite shooting just 28 percent.
McDuffie had 13 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes
Echenique's three-pointer sliced the margin to five, 35-30, but the Sooners outscored the Shockers 29-6 over the next 11 minutes to build a commanding 64-38 lead with 8:06 to play.
Tulane 60, South Alabama 80
Making their first true road appearance of the season, the Tulane men's basketball team suffered an 81-60 road defeat at South Alabama in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon.
Caleb Daniels led Tulane (3-6) with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting with eight rebounds in his third 20-point scoring performance of the season. Buay Koka shot a perfect 5-for-5 for a career-high 11 points to go with a pair of blocks off the bench, as Jordan Cornish chipped in 10 points with a team-high four assists.
Rodrick Sikes paced South Alabama (5-5) with 21 points, as Josh Ajayi compiled a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Jaguars shot over 53 percent overall and made 11 3-pointers, while the Green Wave shot nearly 47 percent from the floor, but just 20 percent from beyond the arc.
South Alabama owned a 38-28 scoring advantage in the paint, 16-8 on fast breaks, 12-5 on second chances and 20-15 off turnovers.
Daniels scored the first eight and 14 of Tulane's first 16 points of the second half, but South Alabama was able to increase their lead to over 20 points early in the period and again inside the final five minutes. The Wave fell behind by as many as 23 with 3:40 remaining.
In the first half, the Jaguars built their lead to double-digits for the first time, 28-18, with just over nine minutes remaining. widened the margin to 17 on their final shot of the first half before taking a 47-30 advantage into the locker room.
The Green Wave shot 10-for-23 (.423) in the opening 20 minutes, while South Alabama went 17-for-32 (.531) from the floor and held a 12-0 scoring edge on fast breaks. The Jaguars also made six 3-pointers to the Wave's two.
UPCOMING GAMES
| TUESDAY 12.11.18 |
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Georgia Southern |
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UCF |
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7 p.m. |
Orlando, Fla. |
TV:ESPN3 |
| WEDNESDAY 12.12.18 |
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Massachusetts |
|
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Temple |
|
|
7 p.m. |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
TV:ESPN3 |
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Jacksonville State |
|
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Wichita State |
|
|
8 p.m. |
Wichita, Kan. |
TV:COX YURVIEW/ESPN3 |
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LSU |
|
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Houston |
|
|
9 p.m. |
Houston, Texas |
TV:ESPN2 |
| THURSDAY 12.13.18 |
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New Orleans |
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Tulsa |
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|
8 p.m. |
Tulsa, Okla. |
TV:ESPN3 |