Both UCF and USF picked up home victories in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Sunday (Dec. 15).
UCF 76, Sacred Heart 65 -
Box Score
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Collin Smith had 14 points as UCF beat Sacred Heart 76-65 on Sunday.
Darin Green Jr. had 12 points for UCF (8-2), which earned its fifth straight win. Ceasar DeJesus added 11 points. Dre Fuller Jr. had 10 points for the home team.
Sacred Heart scored 28 first-half points, a season low for the team.
Jare'l Spellman had 14 points for the Pioneers (6-5), whose four-game winning streak was broken. E.J. Anosike added 12 points. Cameron Parker had 10 points.
Oklahoma State 61, Houston 55 -
Box Score
HOUSTON (AP) -- Yor Anei scored 18 points to lead the Oklahoma State Cowboys to a 61-55 win over the Houston Cougars on Sunday.
Anei scored a layup with less than a minute remaining and later hit two clutch free throws. For the Cowboys (8-2), Cameron McGriff had 12 points, and Lindy Waters III and Thomas Dziagwa both added 11 points.
Caleb Mills led Houston (6-3) with 23 points off the bench, a career high for the redshirt freshman.
Houston struggled to stop Anei, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, who made 5 of 10 shots from the field, 8 of 9 free throws and added eight rebounds.
Oklahoma State led for much of the game until Mills hit two free throws for Houston to tie the game at 50 with 3:40 remaining. The free throws capped off a 10-0 run for the Cougars during Oklahoma State's scoring drought of more than three minutes.
Oklahoma State dominated the first half with hot shooting and relentless defensive pressure. The Cowboys jumped to a 9-2 lead before Houston clawed back and briefly kept pace. Mills hit a 3-pointer to cut Oklahoma State's lead to 21-19 with 7:29 remaining in the first half.
Those would be the last points the Cougars would score in the first half.
The Cowboys scored the final 14 points of the first half to take a 35-19 into halftime.
With 18:35 left in the second half, the Cougars finally ended their scoring drought at just under nine minutes with a jumper from Mills.
After a 7-0 start to the season, Oklahoma State had lost its previous two games. For the Cougars, the loss snaps a four-game winning streak.
In their previous matchup, Houston cruised to a 63-53 win in Stillwater last December as part of their 15-0 start to the season.
USF 81, Drexel 61 -
Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- David Collins had a season-high 23 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career, and USF romped past Drexel 81-61 on Sunday.
Laquincy Rideau had 19 points for South Florida (6-4), which earned its fourth consecutive home victory. Justin Brown added 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers to move into the career top 10 with 119.
South Florida totaled 46 second-half points, a season best for the team. The Bulls were up three when Collins hit a 3-pointer at the 6:29 mark, igniting a 16-0 run to break the game open.
Zach Walton had 21 points for the Dragons (5-6) and Camren Wynter added 19.