BOX SCORE | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
 

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Justin Gorham scored 15 points, including four free throws in the final 27 seconds, and second-seeded Houston beat No. 3 seed Memphis 76-74 on Saturday to advance to its third consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament final.
 
Boogie Ellis had a career-high 27 points for Memphis, but he had a turnover with 49 seconds left. He fell down with the ball when trying to respond to the Gorham’s nifty one-handed reverse layup with just over a minute left that had put the Cougars up 72-71.
 
Gorham added two free throws with 27 seconds left, and two more with four seconds left. Ellis made a running 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.
 
Quentin Grimes had 21 points with five 3-pointers for Houston (23-3), which is already a lock for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Marcus Sasser had 14 points, and DeJon Jarreau finished with 11.
 
DeAndre Williams had 16 points for Memphis (16-8), an NCAA bubble team which overcame a 12-point halftime deficit and took the lead late. D.J. Jeffries had 10 points.
 
The Cougars are looking for their first conference tournament title since 2010 in Conference USA when Tom Penders was their coach. They play Sunday against fifth-seeded Cincinnati, which beat regular-season champion Wichita State 60-59 in Saturday’s other AAC semifinal.
 
Cincinnati won the last two AAC title championship games over Houston, 69-57 in 2019 and 56-55 in 2018. Last year’s tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
Williams had 10 points when Memphis opened the second half with a 17-5 run, getting even at 46-all on his jumper with 10:45 left that ended his personal 6-0 run.
 
Grimes had a fast-break dunk with 17 minutes left, but the Cougars missed seven shots in a row until Grimes made a 3-pointer with 8:55 left, right after Ellis made a 3. Ellis and Grimes traded quick 3-pointers again only a couple of minutes later.
 
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 74, No. 4 SMU 71
Game 6 – No. 2 Houston 77, No. 10 Tulane 52
Game 7 – No. 3 Memphis 70, No. 6 UCF 62
 
Semifinals – Saturday, March 13
Game 8 – No. 5 Cincinnati 60, No. 1 Wichita State 59
Game 9 – No. 2 Houston 76, No. 3 Memphis 74
 
Championship Final – Sunday, March 14
Game 10 – No. 5 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 Houston - 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. CT - ESPN