PROVIDENCE, R.I. - On the second-to-last day of the American Athletic Conference men's basketball regular season, three teams earned pivotal momentum heading into next week's league championship. Temple got head coach Fran Dunphy a win in his final game at the Liacouras Center as the Owls upset No. 25/rv UCF, 67-62. Wichita State got its third buzzer-beater in five weeks with a corner 3-pointer from freshman Dexter Dennis to down Tulane, 82-79. Finally, Memphis sent its seniors off in style with a win at FedExForum over Tulsa, 66-63
Saturday, March 9
Temple 67, No. 25/rv UCF 62
Seniors Shizz Alston, Jr. and Ernest Aflakpui, along with head coach Fran Dunphy, got the Liacouras Center send-off they were looking for as the Owls (23-8, 13-5) got the best of No. 25/rv UCF (23-7, 13-5) by a score of 67-62. It was an intense, back-and-forth battle that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes before Temple got its second win over a ranked team this season.
After a run by each team early in the game, it was a true battle the rest of the way. For over a 30-minute stretch, neither team led by more than four.
UCF was a one-man show with Aubrey Dawkins scoring 36 points and grabbing 11 boards. His scoring effort ties for the sixth-most points all-time at the arena.
The Owls held UCF's 7-6 center, Tacko Fall, to just two points and five rebounds, well below his season averages of 11.2 ppg and 7.3 rpg.
After the 10th tie of the game with 5:30 remaining, the Owls took the lead on a Quinton Rose dunk and never trailed again.
Temple went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to hold off the Knights.
The game marked the final home contest for Dunphy, the 13th-year coach of the Owls who will step down at the end of the season.
Alston led four players who reached double figures in scoring. His 21-point effort marked his seventh straight game with 20 or more points. He also dished a team-best six assists on his Senior Day.
Justyn Hamilton came off the bench for a career-high tying 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and came up with a crucial rebound and putback with three and a half minutes left.
Rose finished with 11 points and J.P. Moorman II added 10 points and three steals. Moorman and Aflakpui led the Owls with five rebounds each.
UCF jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but it did not prove to be indicative of how the half would progress.
After the Owls' first bucket by Rose, Alston really got Temple going and scored seven straight points, the last two of which started a 12-0 run for the Owls.
Moorman took over, posting eight straight points in the run which was capped by two Hamilton free throws that put Temple up 19-15 with 11 minutes to go.
The game saw its first tie at 22-22, and the largest separation was three points for the rest of the half.
There were eight total lead changes and three more ties down the stretch, with an impressive performance by Hamilton who scored seven straight points from 7:27 to 5:29.
The Owls trailed 34-31 with three minutes to go, but got a pair of free throws by Aflakpui and a layup in the final minute by Nate Pierre-Louis to take a 35-34 halftime lead.
Temple committed just three first-half turnovers compared to 11 by UCF, leading to a 12-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Wichita State 82, Tulane 79
Dexter Dennis sank a corner three with no time on the clock to give Wichita State an 82-79 victory over Tulane Saturday evening at Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tied at 79, WSU inbounded under the Tulane basket with 0.5 seconds on the clock. Dennis flashed to the near corner, caught a pass from Ricky Torres and uncorked the game-winner a split-second before time expired.
It was the third game-winning buzzer-beater for WSU (17-13, 10-8) in the last five weeks. The Shockers won for the ninth time in 11 tries following a 1-6 start to conference play.
The victory secures the No. 6 seed in next week's American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship. WSU will face No. 11 seed ECU in Thursday's first round, beginning at just after 9 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
Samajae Haynes-Jones scored a team-high 15 points for WSU on 3-of-8 three-point shooting. Markis McDuffie added 14 points, four assists and two steals. Jaime Echenique scored all 13 of his points in the second half and finished with a team-high six rebounds. Jamarius Burton tacked on 11 points and a team-high five assists with just one turnover.
The shot overshadowed a rough evening for Dennis, who was playing just over an hour down the road from his hometown of Baker, La. In front of a large contingent of friends and family. In the first 39 minutes, 59.5 seconds, the freshman was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting.
Caleb Daniels scored 31 of his game-high 36 points in the second half for Tulane (4-26, 0-18). He hit 11-of-17 from the field and 12-of-14 free throws. Teammate Samir Sehic chipped in 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with eight rebounds. He hit all seven shots from inside the ac.
The Shockers finished at 45.2 percent (6-of-24 from three) and connected on 20-of-27 free throws. Tulane shot 49.1 percent (8-of-17 from distance) but committed 16 turnovers to WSU's 10.
WSU forced 12 Tulane turnovers on six steals in the first half to build a 37-28 halftime lead. McDuffie (nine points), Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler (eight) and Haynes-Jones (seven) led the Shocker scoring.
The Green Wave recovered to shoot 55 percent down the stretch while knocking down 14-of-15 free throw attempts.
Daniels did much of the damage, hitting 9-of-10 shots from the field (2-of-3 from deep) and all 11 free throw attempts. His 31-points marked the highest-scoring half by an individual Shocker opponent in 12 seasons under Gregg Marshall.
The second half featured wild momentum swings. WSU led by nine at the break. Tulane outscored the Shockers 27-9 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to build its own nine-point cushion. WSU scored 36 points over the final 10:17.
Down 60-52 at the 8:52-mark, WSU used a 9-0 run to take the lead back. Erik Stevenson supplied five points, including a three-pointer, to get things started.
Both sides delivered clutch baskets down the stretch. Haynes-Jones' three put the Shockers ahead 73-70 with 2:23 to go, but Daniels answered with one of his own on the Green Wave's next possession.
Daniels sank three free throws for a 76-74 lead with 1:36 left, but McDuffie tied it with a twisting layup just eight seconds later.
Tulane turned it over, and WSU worked it inside to Echenique for a basket and a foul. The junior's three-point play made it a 79-76 Shocker lead with only 52 seconds showing.
Daniels stepped up for Tulane with a three-point play of his own to knot the game at 79 with just 33 seconds to go.
With a three-second differential between shot clock and game clock, WSU stalled for a last-second opportunity. Haynes-Jones' three-pointer missed the mark. Both sides scrambled for the loose ball, and WSU was awarded possession after a Tulane player touched it out of bounds, setting up Dennis' heroics.
Memphis 66, Tulsa 63
Jeremiah Martin hit two key free throws with 16.9 seconds remaining - two of his game-high 20 points - to help the University of Memphis finish the regular-season Saturday night on a winning note: 66-63 over Tulsa.
Martin, the No. 11 leading scorer in school history, was among five seniors honored before the start of the American Athletic Conference game at FedExForum. Martin, who received the loudest ovation before the game, said he was not going to allow the memorable night to finish on a sour note.
In the game's final five minutes, he scored six points, including the two free throws in the closing seconds, to satisfy a crowd of 17,611.
Martin was honored along with Kyvon Davenport, Raynere Thornton, Kareem Brewton Jr. and Mike Parks Jr. But it was a heralded freshman, Tyler Harris, who also came up big to compliment Martin.
Harris had a key steal with 2:30 to go and the Tigers clinging to a one-point lead. He converted the steal into a layup for a 60-57 lead. The UofM never trailed the rest of the way. Harris finished with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
After falling behind by eight (26-18) late in the opening half, the Tigers closed strong to grab a lead at halftime. Memphis finished the half on a 13-1 run, powered by Martin. He had seven points during the run and finished the half with nine points.
The Tigers also helped their cause in the first half with a strong effort on the boards. They outrebounded Tulsa, 24-20.the Golden Hurricane to 34 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers.
The UofM built a seven-point lead midway through the second half after going on a 9-2 run. Harris capped the run with a deep 3-pointer from the right wing for a 45-38 advantage with about 12 minutes remaining.
Memphis couldn't pull away, however. After a Tulsa layup with eight minutes to go, Memphis led, 52-46. An 8-2 Golden Hurricane run trimmed the Tigers' lead to two points (54-52) with 5:40 left.
The Golden Hurricane took the lead briefly (55-54) moments later, but the Tigers responded in those closing minutes to improve to 19-12 overall, 11-7 in conference play.
The Tigers will begin play in the American Athletic Conference Championship at 2 p.m. Thursday at FedExForum against Tulane. The UofM will be the No. 5 seed and play the 12th-seeded Green Wave in an opening-round game.
Despite shooting 37 percent in the first half and committing 11 turnovers, the Tigers led, 31-27, at the break. Memphis survived the difficult start, in part, because of Tulsa's struggles. The Golden Hurricane shot 27 percent (8-of-30) and committed eight turnovers.
After falling behind by eight (26-18) late in the opening half, the Tigers closed strong to grab a lead at halftime. Memphis finished the half on a 13-1 run, powered by Martin. He had seven points during the run and finished the half with nine points.
The Tigers also helped their cause in the first half with a strong effort on the boards. They outrebounded Tulsa, 24-20.
UPCOMING GAMES