BOX SCORE | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

 
IRVING, Texas – Top-seeded Wichita State came from as many as 12 down in the second half to defeat No. 8 USF, 68-67, in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships Friday, March 12 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
Wichita State (16-4) advances to the semifinals and will face the winner of No. 4 SMU and No. 5 Cincinnati on Saturday, March 13 at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
 
USF (9-13) led 65-58 with six minutes remaining before Alterique Gilbert hit a pair of 3-pointers for Wichita State to cut the lead to 65-64. A pair of Dexter Dennis free throws gave WSU its first lead of the second half, while Michael Durr’s jumper gave the Bulls back the lead at 67-66 with 2:31 left. After back-and-forth defensive stops, American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Tyson Etienne made two free throws with eight seconds remaining to give the Shockers the lead for good.
 
The Shockers, who were limited to 37.7 percent shooting (23-of-61), were led by Etienne’s 20 points, while Morris Udeze was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
 
USF had balanced scoring with four players with nine or more points, led by Durr with 13 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
 
USF’s David Collins finished with seven points and concludes the season with 1,540 career points, 10th all-time on The American’s scoring chart. Collins holds the conference record for free throws made with 493 and is fourth all-time in steals with 183.
 
The Bulls jumped out to a 17-5 lead five-and-a-half minutes into the game and held Wichita State to 2-of-10 shooting to start, but the Shockers went on a 17-5 run of its own a few minutes late to take a 30-25 lead with 5:19 left in the first half. The Bulls finished the half on a 14-0 run to take a 41-31 lead into the break.  
 
All of the latest information regarding the tournament can be found on Championship Central at TheAmerican.org/mbb.
 
Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
March 11-14, 2021
Dickies Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
 
First Round – Thursday, March 11
Game 1 – No. 8 USF 73, No. 9 Temple 71
Game 2 - No. 10 Tulane 77, No. 7 Tulsa 70
Game 3 - No. 6 UCF 72, No. 11 ECU 62
 
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 12
Game 4 – No. 1 Wichita State 68, No. 8 USF 67
Game 5 – No. 5 Cincinnati vs. No. 4 SMU – 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT – ESPN2
Game 6 – No. 10 Tulane vs. No. 2 Houston – 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT – ESPN2
Game 7 – No. 6 UCF vs. No. 3 Memphis – 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT – ESPN2
 
Semifinals – Saturday, March 13
Game 8 - Winner of Game 5 vs. No. 1 Wichita State - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT – ESPN2
Game 9 - Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7 - 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT – ESPN2
 
Championship Final – Sunday, March 14
Game 10 - Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9 - 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. CT - ESPN