In American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night (Jan. 29), road teams went 3-1 in league play.

(rv) Memphis 59, UCF 57 - Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Lance Thomas scored a career-high 20 points and Memphis held off UCF, 59-57, on Wednesday night.

Thomas was 8-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers, two in the final 3-minutes, each giving the Tigers a five-point lead.

Ceasar DeJesus made a jumper for UCF with 56 seconds to go but Precious Achiuwa matched that with 20 seconds to play, restoring the five-point lead until DeJesus nailed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Neither team led by more than six points and there were five ties and 16 lead changes.

Achiuwa had 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Memphis (15-5, 4-3 American Athletic Conference). Boogie Ellis added 13 points.

Collin Smith scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knights (11-9, 2-6) and DeJesus added 13 points. Darin Green Jr. had 11 points.

UConn 78, Temple 63 - Box Score

STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- UConn fans got a glimpse Wednesday of what the future may hold for the Huskies.

Dan Hurley started three freshmen and Connecticut responded with a 78-63 win over Temple in the American Athletic Conference, snapping a four-game losing streak.

''I just thought we showed the character, the toughness, the identity that we're building as a program here,'' Hurley said.

Christian Vital led six Huskies in double figures with 15 points. James Bouknight and Brendan Adams each added 12 points, while Josh Carlton, Isaiah Whaley and Akok Akok had 10 apiece for Connecticut.

Nate Pierre-Louis scored 20 points and Quinton Rose had 15 for Temple ( 10-10, 2-6), which has lost four in a row and seven of its last eight.

UConn, which had been beaten by six points or fewer in every game during its recent skid, never trailed in this one.

The Huskies held the Owls scoreless for a 5 1/2 minute stretch in the first half, opened up an 18-point lead and went into halftime up 36-21.

A steal and tomahawk dunk by Bouknight made it 53-31 and the Huskies extended that to 24 points.

UConn was led by its defense. The Huskies blocked seven shots and forced 16 turnovers that led to 20 points.

''We were just in the right spots and we were smart,'' Hurley said. ''We stole deflections and we didn't take a lot of high risks.''

Carlton, who was held scoreless in the Huskies' last two games, opened the scoring by grabbing an offensive rebound and making a strong move to the basket. He had the Huskies first four points.

''I think the way Josh started the game really gave everybody a boost,'' Vital said. ''Because once we knew we were going to beat them on the inside, it kind of like freed up the guards to attack, knowing they had to think about Josh.''

A driving layup by Vital completed an 8-0 run that gave the Huskies a 12-4 lead. He extended the advantage to 10 points at 18-8 when he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer from the left wing and completed the four-point play.

No. 21/20 Houston 69, ECU 59 - Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Houston coach Kelvin Sampson had just watched his 21st-ranked Cougars grind through a road win when he ran across East Carolina's Jayden Gardner in the hallway outside his postgame news conference.

The veteran coach couldn't hold back his praise for an opponent who made things difficult on his young team, even after Houston had led by double figures much of the night in a 69-59 win.

''You've got a big heart and you're a warrior, man,'' Sampson told Gardner, patting him on the chest.

The Cougars (17-4, 7-1 American Athletic Conference) won for the 15th time in 17 games Wednesday night, though they struggled all night to slow the 6-foot-7 sophomore and AAC-leading scorer. Gardner finished with 29 points and 19 rebounds.

''We played against a lot of teams, but Gardner's the best player we've played against,'' Sampson said. ''We've played against nobody that is more difficult because you don't know who to put on him.

''We came in with a brilliant game plan, we threw that out of the window in three minutes. That one didn't work. We said, 'Well OK, let's go to this.' That one didn't work either. He's tough.''

While Gardner got little help from his teammates, Houston showed some of the balance that has put it atop the AAC standings.

Houston came in with five players averaging between 9.8 and 12.9 points, then got 18 points, five rebounds and a season-high six assists from redshirt freshman Caleb Mills. Kansas transfer Quentin Grimes added 15 points, while Chris Harris Jr. had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Compare that to the Pirates (9-12, 3-5). Gardner finished with one fewer point than the rest of his teammates, who made 8 of 39 shots (20.5%). And Houston made its move when the Pirates got away from feeding Gardner late in the first half after he had scored 16 points, building a 33-21 lead by the break and never letting ECU closer than eight again.

East Carolina finished the game shooting 33%, including 4 of 23 from 3-point range and 17 of 26 from the foul line (65%).

''I think one of the things when you play Houston is they're not going to help you, so you have to help yourself because they don't give you anything,'' Pirates coach Joe Dooley said. ''I thought some of the things we needed to do, we did. Some of the things we needed to probably help ourselves, we didn't.''

USF 66, Tulane 52 - Box Score

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- David Collins scored 14 points with eight rebounds and USF beat Tulane, 66-52, on Wednesday.

Nic Thomas' 3-pointer with 16:42 left to play brought the Green Wave within 34-33. But Ezacuras Dawson III made a pair of 3-pointers, David Collins added a 3 and a three-point play and Michael Durr's layup were all part of a 14-0 run. Tulane couldn't get within five points the rest of the way.

Laquincy Rideau had 14 points for South Florida (9-12, 2-6 American Athletic Conference), which broke its five-game losing streak. Dawson III added 13 points and Madut Akec had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Bulls had a 40-19 rebounding advantage.

Christion Thompson had 18 points for the Green Wave (10-10, 2-6) who have lost four straight.