Temple's Damian Dunn hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the Owls, Houston and Tulane picked up American Athletic Conference wins on Saturday, Jan. 8.

Saturday, January 8
No. 12/14 Houston 76, Wichita State 66 - Box Score
Temple 78, East Carolina 75 - Box Score
Tulane 68, South Florida 54 - Box Score

No. 12/14 Houston 76, Wichita State 66 - Box Score
HOUSTON -- (AP) — Josh Carlton had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 12 Houston over Wichita State 76-66 on Saturday.

Carlton, who scored a career-high 30 points to go with 11 rebounds in a win Wednesday at South Florida, was eight of 12 from the field. He also blocked four shots.

The Cougars improved to 3-0 since losing leading scorer Marcus Sasser and key reserve Tramon Mark for the season due to injuries. Carlton has averaged 20 points per game and over nine rebounds per game in that stretch.

"Marcus going out, that's a lot of points we have to replace along with Tramon," Carlton said. "We were trying to find ways to score. Coach has emphasized getting (the ball) to me."

Taze Moore scored 17 points, Fabian White Jr. added 15 and Jamal Shead had 10 points and seven assists for the Cougars. Houston (14-2, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) won its sixth straight and extended its home winning streak to 34 games.

Houston shot 45% but struggled on 3-pointers, shooting six of 21.

"This team is 3-0 (since losing Sasser and Mark), and the thing that I'm encouraged about is I think we can get better," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "We're going to shoot the ball better. We're going to have bad shooting days. I'm not worried about that."

Houston forced Wichita State into 14 turnovers, and turned those into 26 points.

"Twenty-six and we call those atomic bombs when you turn it over, and the other team goes and gets a layup," Wichita State coach Isaac Brown said. "We have to do a better job of not giving up easy baskets on the other end, and we got to start getting easy baskets on the other end."

Tyson Etienne scored 11 points and Dexter Dennis had 10 for the Shockers (9-5, 0-2).

"We just didn't do a good job of taking care of the basketball," Brown said. "Too many easy baskets led to 26 points in transition, and big boy was a handful inside. We couldn't guard him."

The Cougars led 36-31 at halftime and made it 65-50 with 8:40 remaining on a layup by Carlton. Wichita State responded with a 9-0 run, cutting the lead to six on layup by Ricky Council IV with five minutes left.

Houston then scored five in a row, capped by Carlton's three-point play.

Temple 78, East Carolina 75 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA -- (AP) — Damian Dunn hit a 3-pointer as time expired to lift Temple to a 78-75 win over East Carolina on Saturday.

Damian Dunn had a career-high 33 points to lead the Owls.

Dunn hit 10 of 12 from the free throw line.

Nick Jourdain had 16 points for Temple (9-6, 2-2 American Athletic Conference). Jeremiah Williams added 10 points, six assists and three blocks. Jahlil White had six rebounds.

Alanzo Frink had 15 points for the Pirates (10-4, 1-1). Tremont Robinson-White added 14 points. Vance Jackson had 12 points.

Tristen Newton, whose 19.0 points per game heading into the contest led the Pirates, had only 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Tulane 68, South Florida 54 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS -- (AP)  Kevin Cross, R.J. McGee and Jalen Cook scored 17 points apiece as Tulane beat South Florida 68-54 on Saturday.

McGee also had eight rebounds for Tulane (6-7, 3-1 American Athletic Conference).

Jamir Chaplin had 17 points for the Bulls (5-9, 0-2). Jalyn McCreary added 14 points. Javon Greene had nine rebounds.