Houston moved into first place in the American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings with a home win over Tulsa on Wednesday (Feb. 19).

UCF 89, (rv) Cincinnati 87 (2OT) - Box Score
CINCINNATI (AP) -- UCF turned to Tony Johnson Jr. in the second half. The freshman didn't let the Knights down.

Johnson scored four of his career-high 21 points in the second overtime and UCF upset first-place Cincinnati 89-87 in an American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday night.

Johnson, who didn't start the game before coach Johnny Dawkins sent him out to start the second half, shook off the roars from the Cincinnati crowd of 10,874 to convert two free throws before scoring on a layup with a 1:03 left to give Central Florida (14-11, 5-8) an 86-85 lead. Matt Milon added two free throws with 11.7 seconds left to give UCF a 3-point cushion.

“I was comfortable,” Johnson Jr. said. “We've played in front of big crowds before. Coach always tells me to be ready. It was my time."

Jarron Cumberland's half court 3-pointer was ruled to have come after the buzzer after a brief video review, clinching the Knights' third win in their last four games.

Brandon Mahan scored eight of his season-high 20 points in the first overtime. He got free for three layups before sinking two free throws with 24 seconds left in the first overtime to match his single-game career high and give Central Florida an 80-77 lead, but Jaevon Cumberland connected on a long 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left to force a second overtime.

Trevon Scott gave Cincinnati (17-9, 10-4) a 70-68 lead on an off-balance layup with 31.3 seconds left in regulation, but Mahan answered with a game-tying layup of his own with 13 seconds left, sending Cincinnati to its fourth consecutive overtime game, tying an NCAA record.

Taking advantage of a leaky Cincinnati defense, Johnson Jr. scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half. Collin Smith scored 17 points in the game before fouling out in the first minute of overtime. Milon and Darin Green Jr. each added 12.

Scott logged his 11th double-double of the season, ninth in conference play, for Cincinnati. He set a single-game career high with 21 rebounds while scoring a team-high 22 points. Keith Williams chipped in 17 points and Jaevon Cumberland added 12 for the Bearcats, who went into the game tied with No. 22 Houston for first place.

The Bearcats didn't handle Central Florida's ball screens well, creating a never-ending series of wide-open layups.

“We got beat,” Bearcats coach John Brannen said. “I was really disappointed with our effort in the first half and our rebounding. We haven't guarded in a month. I don't know if we've fallen in love with offense, but we've got to get tougher guarding. It felt like we were not connected defensively.”

“I don’t think it was anything they were doing defensively,” Dawkins said. "We were fortunate that we had guys step up and make plays. We wanted to come out in the atmosphere and play a tough 40 minutes – well 50 minutes. That was a really good effort.”

Scott almost pulled off a first-half double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds, helping Cincinnati lead by as many as 10 points before Central Florida finished the half with a 5-0 run capped by Mahan’s putback with six seconds left before halftime. Mahan scored 10 points in the first half.

Memphis 77, ECU 73 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Precious Achiuwa scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Boogie Ellis hit the clinching free throw with 8.3 seconds left as Memphis edged East Carolina 77-73 on Wednesday night.

The Pirates battled back from a 16-point second-half deficit to tie the score three times, the first with 6:23 to play. But after tying the game at 69, Ellis and Achiuwa scored inside to give the Tigers a 73-69 lead going into the final minute.

ECU made one free throw and Memphis three of four for a 76-70 lead. Bitumba Baruti nailed a 3-pointer for the Pirates with 10.3 seconds to play but Ellis made it a two-possession game.

Ellis had 17 points for Memphis (18-8, 7-6 American Athletic Conference).

Tristen Newton tied a season high with 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his first double-double for the Pirates (10-17, 4-10). Jayden Gardner added 16 points and Bitumba Baruti 14.

Tulane 80, SMU 72 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Teshaun Hightower scored 17 of his 26 points after halftime as Tulane snapped its nine-game losing streak, topping SMU 80-72 on Wednesday night.

Christion Thompson had 19 points and six rebounds for Tulane (11-15, 3-11 American Athletic Conference). K.J. Lawson added 14 points. Jordan Walker had 11 points and six assists.

Leading 27-3 at halftime, Tulane scored a season-high 53 second-half points, shooting 72% during the period (13-for-18) and made all six attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. The Green Wave shot 57% for the game, just the eighth SMU opponent to shoot better than 45%.

Isiaha Mike had 18 points for the Mustangs (18-7, 8-5), who had a two-game win streak end. Tyson Jolly added 16 points. Emmanuel Bandoumel had 15 points.

After trailing by double digits much of the second half, Mike scored on a putback to bring SMU to 74-69 with 1:04 remaining but Hightower dunked and Tulane was 4-for-4 at the line in the fading seconds.

The Green Wave leveled the season series against the Mustangs with the win. SMU defeated Tulane 82-67 on Feb. 1.

No. 22 Houston 76, (rv/-) Tulsa 43 - Box Score
HOUSTON (AP) -- Caleb Mills scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half to lead No. 22 Houston to a 76-43 win over Tulsa on Wednesday night.

Mills shot 9 of 16, including hitting 5 of 9 on 3-pointers. Nate Hinton added 15 points for Houston (21-6, 11-3 American), which shot 41%.

The Cougars moved into sole possession of first place in the American with the win combined with Cincinnati's loss to Central Florida on Wednesday. The Cougars rebounded after losing to SMU, 73-72, in overtime on Saturday and avenged a 63-61 loss at Tulsa on Jan. 11.

Martins Igbanu had 15 points, and Jeriah Horne added 12 points and seven rebounds for Tulsa (17-9, 9-4). The Golden Hurricane shot 35% but were 4 of 20 on 3-pointers.

Houston opened the second half by outscoring Tulsa, 30-8, to take a 56-28 lead with 11 1/2 minutes remaining behind Mills, who scored 20 points in the run.