#AmericanHoops Scoreboard
UCF 86, #rv/-- Mississippi State 61
#rv/rv SMU 76, #--/rv Pittsburgh 67
#rv/rv Oklahoma 89, Tulane 70
UMass 70, Temple 67
Charlotte 76, East Carolina 64
Elon 74, USF 61
#rv/rv UConn 65, Loyola Marymount 62
UCF 86, #rv/-- MIssissippi State 61
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Tacko Fall, the NCAA's tallest player at 7-foot-6, had a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds in UCF's runaway, 86-61 victory over Mississippi State at the Charleston Classic on Thursday.
Fall is a sophomore from Senegal who played like a project much of the time his freshman season. But Fall appeared much more polished in dominating the Bulldogs underneath.
He made 13 of 17 shots, eight of those dunks and two more on layups. He helped the Knights (2-0) open a 29-point lead in the first half and cruise to victory.
Tank Efianayi had 17 points, 15 coming in UCF's big first half as it made 19 of 30 shots to take a 53-33 lead. B.J. Taylor also finished with 17 points for the Knights.
Fall choked off any thoughts of a Mississippi State comeback with the first two baskets of the second half, including a gliding one-handed jam as the crowd at TD Arena cheered.
He surpassed his previous high of 23 points set against Stetson last December.
The Bulldogs could not respond and fell into the loser's bracket of the eight-team tournament.
#rv/rv SMU 76, #--/rv Pittsburgh 67
NEW YORK (AP) -- Semi Ojeleye scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and SMU defeated Pittsburgh 76-67 in the first semifinal of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
Shake Milton added 14 and Ben Moore contributed 12 for the Mustangs (3-0), who shot 57 percent in the second half and 48 percent overall.
Michael Young scored 22 points for Pittsburgh, which had averaged 96 points in home wins over Eastern Michigan and Gardner Webb. Jamel Artis added 20 for the Panthers (2-1).
Ojeleye, who had not played in 23 months after being used sparingly at Duke, shot 9 of 17. He has 68 points in his first three games with the Mustangs.
Ojeleye turned in his latest big game after going 2 of 7 in the first half when the Mustangs missed their last nine shots and trailed 33-31.
The Mustangs held a 54-45 lead when Ojeleye hit a 3-pointer with about 12 minutes left. The Panthers were within 63-59 following two free throws by Young with 4:52 left but the Mustangs gradually finished it off, starting with a two-handed dunk by Moore on the next possession. Ojeleye then polished off his big night with an emphatic block of Young with about a minute remaining and converted a transition layup on the next possession.
#rv/rv Oklahoma 89, Tulane 70
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Jordan Woodard had 22 points and seven assists while Rashard Odomes added 15 points to help Oklahoma pull away with an 89-70 win over Tulane in the first round of the Tire Pros Invitational on Thursday night.
In a game that was close throughout the first half, the Sooners' superior athleticism and depth took control in the second half as they increased a slim lead to a double-digit advantage for much of the final 20 minutes.
The Sooners (2-0) seemed to take control early in the second half when Kristian Doolittle and Woodard both knocked down big shots. Oklahoma went ahead by 10 points with 12:19 remaining when Woodard converted two free throws to make it 56-46.
Tulane kept close in the first half and trailed the Sooners only 38-35 at halftime. The Green Wave got strong performances from several players, including Cameron Reynolds, who had nine points and Von Julien came off the bench to add eight points in the first half.
Odomes led the Sooners in the opening half with seven points and Jordan Woodard added six points.
Reynolds led the Green Wave (1-2) with 19 points and both Ryan Smith and Malik Morgan added 10 points.
Both OU and Tulane shot in the 40 percent range in half where there were two lead changes with Tulane leading by as many as four points and the Sooners' biggest lead was eight points.
UMass 70, Temple 67
AMHERST, Mass. -- (AP) DeJon Jarreau scored 16 points, including the final five points of the last 34 seconds, to power UMass past Temple 70-67 on Thursday night.
Jarreau took a jab-step and pulled up from the wing for a 3-pointer that made it 68-67 for UMass (2-1) with 34 seconds left. After Daniel Dingle missed a 3 for Temple (1-2) with 11 seconds left, Jarreau slipped behind the defense for an outlet and breakaway layup to cap the scoring.
Quinton Rose missed another 3 for the Owls and Luwane Pipkins secured the rebound for the win.
Neither team led by more than three points for the final 17:07 and Temple took a 67-65 lead on Alani Moore II's jumper with 50 seconds left.
Donte Clark added 14 points and Rashaan Holloway scored 11 for the Minutemen.
Obi Enechionyia had 26 points and made 5 of 10 from 3-point range to lead the Owls.
Charlotte 76, East Carolina 64
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Anthony Vanhook had 13 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists on Thursday night and Charlotte beat East Carolina 76-64.
Jon Davis added 24 points and five assists, and Braxton Ogbueze and Hudson Price added 11 points each for the 49ers (3-0).
Charlotte took the lead for good at 56-54 on Hudson Price's 3-pointer with 7:41 left. The teams traded baskets and then Charlotte scored nine straight for a 67-56 lead.
All five of the East Carolina (2-1) starters scored in double digits but none more than 12. Andre Washington, B.J. Tyson and Raquan Wilkins had 12 points each, Clarence Williams scored 11 and Kentrell Barkley added 10.
East Carolina had the lead for stretches of the first half and never trailed significantly until Charlotte first pulled away at 52-42. The Pirates held a 38-29 edge on the glass but committed 21 turnovers to the 49ers' eight.
Elon 74, USF 61
TAMPA, Fla. -- (AP) Brian Dawkins and Steven Santa Ana scored 13 points apiece and Elon defeated South Florida 74-61 on Thursday night.
Trailing by a point, Dainan Swoope hit a 3-pointer that started a 16-2 run that put Elon (2-1) up for good on its way to a 39-26 halftime lead. The lead quickly ballooned to 21 points early in the second half and remained in double figures.
Luke Eddy and Karolis Kundrotas added 11 points each for the Phoenix (2-1), who came in ranked 16th nationally at 98 points per game and returned 14 players and four starters from last year's 16-16 squad.
The Bulls (1-1), one of four Division I teams without a senior, were led by Geno Thorpe with 16 points and Michael Bibby with 15. Tulio Da Silva and Troy Holston added 11 each.
This was the first meeting between the schools.
#rv/rv UConn 65, Loyola Marymount 62
Terry Larrier scored 14 points, including the go-ahead basket, and UConn held on to beat Loyola Marymount 65-62 on Thursday night.
Although the Huskies (1-2) trailed much of the second half, Larrier's basket with 2:20 to play gave UConn a 63-62 lead and Jalen Adams added two free throws with 20 seconds left.
Brandon Brown's 3-point attempt at the buzzer would have forced overtime for the Lions (1-2), but it hit off the rim and the Huskies escaped with their first win of the season.
Kelvin Amayo -- a transfer from Iona who was granted a sixth year waiver following knee surgery -- led LMU with 18 points. Buay Tuach scored 12 points and Brandon Brown added 10 points.
Amida Brimah scored 9 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
UConn started the season ranked 18th but suffered a pair of setbacks at home to start the season against Wagner and Northeastern.
Both teams showed offensive spurts in the opening half but neither team maintained them.
Alterique Gilbert led the Huskies with 10 points in the first half, but dislocated his left shoulder after colliding with a defender while chasing a loose ball late in the half. He remained down on the court for several minutes before the training staff led him off to the locker room.