Houston, Memphis and Temple all picked up victories in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Tuesday, December 6.

Tuesday, December 6
Temple 70, Saint Joseph's 60 - Box Score
No. 1 Houston 76, North Florida 42 - Box Score
Memphis 87, Little Rock 71 - Box Score
UNCW 74, East Carolina 61 - Box Score

Temple 70, Saint Joseph's 60 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA -- Khalif Battle scored 20 points as Temple defeated local rival Saint Joseph's, 70-60, Tuesday night at the Liacouras Center.

Battle was joined in double figures by Zach Hicks, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Hysier Miller, who added 10 points, for the Owls (6-4).

Cameron Brown led all scorers with 25 points for Saint Joseph's (3-5).

No. 1 Houston 76, North Florida 42 - Box Score
HOUSTON (AP) — The top-ranked Houston Cougars had star Marcus Sasser for just eight minutes Tuesday night before he left with a cut over his eye.

But the Cougars had several young players step up to make up for his loss as they rolled to a 76-42 win over North Florida.

Ja’Vier Francis, a sophomore, scored 14 points and Sasser had 12 points. Freshman Jarace Walker added 12 points with 10 rebounds, and fellow freshman Emanuel Sharp scored nine.

Sasser, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points, made two 3-pointers early as the Cougars scored the first eight points of the game. He continued his hot start and scored 12 points as Houston (9-0) built a 24-13 lead with about 12 minutes left in the first half. But, he got hit in the face soon after and left the game with the cut above his left eye.

A school spokesman said he received stitches for the cut and was questionable to return. But, he didn’t come back with the Cougars holding a huge lead for the rest of the night.

Sampson said Sasser received five stitches, and was OK after the game.

The Cougars were up by 10 about four minutes after Sasser’s injury and then used a 14-0 run, with two 3-pointers by Sharp, to end the half and take a 42-18 lead into the break.

Sharp said hours in the gym practicing has helped improve his shooting.

The Ospreys missed eight shots and had four turnovers in that span, allowing Houston to pad the lead.

Houston held North Florida (2-6) to 29.2% shooting and forced 10 turnovers before the break.

The Cougars entered the game leading the nation in scoring defense by allowing just 48 points a game and continued their stingy defensive play Tuesday to stay undefeated.

Jarius Hicklen made a 3-pointer for North Florida to start the second half, but the Cougars scored the next eight points to stretch the lead to 50-21 about 14½ minutes to go.

Hicklen led the Ospreys with 12 points, but also had five turnovers as they dropped their second straight game.

Sasser’s performance gave him 1,006 points in his career, making him the 50th player in school history to reach 1,000 points. His two 3-pointers Tuesday gave him 200 in his career, making him just the seventh Cougar to reach that mark.

Memphis 87, Little Rock 71 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tennessee -- Four Tigers scored in double figures as Memphis defeated Little Rock, 87-71, Tuesday night at FedEx Fourm.

The Tigers (7-2) shot 54.0 percent from the field 34-63) and were led by DeAndre Williams, who had 17 points. Jayden Hardaway added a career-high 16 points, while Keonte Kennedy recorded 14.

Chris Walker had 18 points off the bench to lead Little Rock (2-7).

UNCW 74, East Carolina 61 - Box Score
WILMINGTON, North Carolina -- Javon Small scored 19 points, but it was not enough as East Carolina fell at UNCW, 74-61, Tuesday night.

Trazarien White led UNCW (7-3) with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Maleeck Harden-Hayes had 12 points off the bench.

Ezra Ausar added 12 points for the Pirates, who fell to 6-4 on the season.