#AmericanHoops Scoreboard
#rv/-- Temple 74, DePaul 65
Memphis 62, UAB 55
Houston 82, #--/rv Rhode Island 77
#16/15 Butler 75, #22/23 Cincinnnati 65
#--/rv Oklahoma State 71, Tulsa 67
#--/rv UCF 76, Maryland-Eastern Shore 58
Tulane 71, Southern Mississippi 64
#rv/rv Ohio State 64, UConn 60
#rv/-- Temple 74, DePaul 65
MIAMI (AP) -- When Temple coach Fran Dunphy arrived in the Owls' locker room for some postgame remarks Saturday, he had a few words to say about his team's next opponent.
Not that his kids needed any reminding.
No. 1 Villanova awaits, and Temple is going into that one on a winning note.
Obi Enechionyia and Shizz Alston Jr. each scored 15 points, and Temple ran out to a 25-point lead before hanging on to beat DePaul 74-65 in the Hoophall Miami Invitational. Villanova would have been Temple's second game in last season's NCAA Tournament, but the Owls lost to Iowa and didn't get a chance to disrupt the Wildcats' run to the national title.
A chance to knock them out of the No. 1 spot this year will have to do, for now.
"The reality is and was that they were the best basketball team throughout the year," Dunphy said. "We watched them tremendously throughout the year. They were the best basketball team and they proved it throughout the NCAA Tournament."
Quinton Rose scored 12 and
Josh Brown had 11 points, seven steals and five assists for the Owls (7-3), who have won six of their last seven games. Brown started for the first time this season, after coming off the bench in three games following his recovery from an Achilles injury.
"I didn't feel out of sorts," Brown said.
Eli Cain scored 17 points for DePaul (5-3), which got 15 from Billy Garrett Jr. The Blue Demons came in shooting only 29 percent from 3-point range and struggled again, making just 1 of 15 tries on Saturday.
Temple was 9 for 20 from 3-point range, translating to a 27-3 edge in points.
DePaul was down 63-38 with 9 minutes left, before a 3-pointer by Cain seemed to give the Blue Demons some life. DePaul went on a 14-0 run in the final 4:50, getting 10 of those points from the line -- including four free throws in one sequence after Alston was called for a foul and a technical on the same play.
But Alston made a pair with 42.3 seconds left to give Temple a three-possession lead again, and the Owls escaped despite not having a single field goal in the final 8:18.
"We continue when we create a problem, that we're resilient to try to solve it," DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. "Our emphasis is not to create the problem -- it's to come out of the gate with the answers to the questions."
Memphis 62, UAB 55
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) --
Dedric Lawson scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Memphis rallied in the second half to defeat UAB 62-55 on Saturday.
Trailing by four at halftime, the Tigers fell behind by nine early in the second half -- the biggest lead for either team -- before building a seven-point lead with 4:32 to play.
Memphis tied the game at 46 with 9:02 to play on a pair of Lawson free throws. His brother K.J. put the Tigers up for good with a layup a minute later. A Dedric Lawson jumper made it 56-49 with 4:32 to play. A jumper by
Chris Cokley and a layup by
Javien Williams cut it to 56-53 but
Markel Crawford and
Jeremiah Martin answered with layups and the Blazers never got closer than five down the stretch.
Crawford finished with 16 points and
K.J. Lawson had 11 rebounds to go with nine points for the Tigers (7-2).
Cokley had 16 points for UAB (5-5), which was outscored 40-28 in the paint.
Houston 82, #--/rv Rhode Island 77
HOUSTON (AP) -- Rob Gray scored 30 points for his third straight game with 20-plus,
Danrad Knowles added 25 points and Houston beat Rhode Island 82-77 on Saturday.
Houston (7-2) trailed 68-67 but the Cougars made six straight free throws for a 73-68 lead with 2:08 left.
Kuran Iverson answered with an inside basket but he couldn't convert a 3-point play.
After a timeout, Galen Robinson Jr. dribbled down the clock and shot a runner in the lane. He missed, grabbed the offensive rebound and found an open
Armoni Brooks for a 3-pointer and a 76-70 lead.
Rhode Island missed a 3-pointer on its next possession but
Cyril Langevine grabbed the offensive board and hit two free throws to pull to 76-72 with 50.8 seconds left. But Robinson broke the press and lobbed it for Knowles for a six-point Houston lead.
E.C. Matthews led Rhode Island (6-4) with a career-high 31 points and six 3-pointers.
#16/15 Butler 75, #22/23 Cincinnnati 65
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Butler forward
Kelan Martin understood exactly why he was pulled out of the starting lineup Saturday.
If he keeps playing this way, it may not happen again.
Martin scored 20 points, grabbed four rebounds and was the catalyst in two key second-half runs to lead the 16th-ranked Bulldogs past No. 22 Cincinnati 75-65.
"I had to come out with a different approach," he said. "The other day (against Indiana State), I came out with no energy. Today, I came off the bench with a lot of energy."
The change was as noticeable on the court as it was in the box score.
In 31 minutes, Martin was 6 of 14 from the field, 3 of 7 on 3-pointers and 5 of 6 on free throws. He also had two assists, looked to get the ball quickly and into the right spots instead of settling for jump shots.
And when the Bulldogs needed him most in the second half, Martin delivered with a big game that allowed Butler (9-1) to extend its home-court winning streak over non-conference foes to 34 games.
"We just were looking at a different lineup to start the game," coach Chris Holtmann said. "It probably won't be the last time we mix up our lineup."
Whatever the explanation, the change worked.
Butler was 7 of 10 on 3-point attempts in the first half, 8 of 20 for the game and in control most of the way.
Troy Caupain scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Bearcats (7-2) and
Gary Clark added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
"We had to get stops and I think we only got one in the first half," Clark said. "We didn't get many in the second half, either."
The Bearcats spent most of the first half playing catch-up before tying the score at 35 on Caupain's 3-pointer with about 1 second to go. They finally took a brief 38-37 lead early in the second half and tied the score again at 39.
But Martin's three-point play broke the tie and spurred a 14-4 run that gave Butler a 51-43 lead with 11:51 to go. Martin followed that with six points in a 12-5 flurry to seal the win.
"We tried not to make too much of the other night (a loss) and I don't want make too much of today either," Holtmann said. "Pleased with it."
Andrew Chrabascz had 12 points and four rebounds for Butler.
#--/rv Oklahoma State 71, Tulsa 67
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Freshman Lindy Waters made the game-winning basket as Oklahoma State edged in-state rival Tulsa 71-67 Saturday, but both Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood and Tulsa's Frank Haith saw different keys to what both agreed was an unsightly affair.
Underwood pointed to the toughness and resourcefulness of freshman guard
Brandon Averette, who stepped in for leading scorer
Jawun Evans and scored a career-high 17 points with three assists and three steals, helping the young Cowboys, now 7-2, snap a six-game losing streak in true road games.
"I love our freshmen, they're fearless," Underwood said. "I've seen veteran teams get punched in the mouth like they did in the second half and fold, but they hung in there. They've got great heart and swagger. I'm proud of what they did."
Haith was left to rue his team's 18 turnovers and 41-30 rebounding deficit.
"That's where we lost the game," he said. "It's very difficult to win when you give up 17 offensive rebounds and have 18 turnovers. They are going to be aggressive on the ball and you can't give in to the pressure."
Waters, one of four freshmen on the floor for OSU throughout many of the key late moments, hit the basket with the shot clock nearing zero and despite tight defense from Tulsa's
Pat Birt. Tulsa had a chance to tie, but
Sterling Taplin missed a layup attempt and OSU (7-2) secured the rebound. Fellow freshman
Thomas Dziagwa, who made three big second-half 3-pointers, made two free throws to secure the win with less than a second remaining.
Jeffrey Carroll had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds for OSU. Dziagwa scored 11 points.
Taplin had 16 points and
Jaleel Wheeler 15 for Tulsa (4-4). Wheeler's third 3-pointer of the second half, all from the left corner, gave Tulsa a 60-57 lead with 4:57 to play, its first lead since 15-14. The Cowboys clawed back on a pull-up by Averette, and 3-pointers by
Leyton Hammonds and Dziagwa to lead 65-60.
Taplin scored on two drives and made one of two free throws to pull Tulsa to 67-65, then
Junior Etou tied the score at 69 on a rebound basket before Waters' game-winner.
Averette played 37 minutes after playing just eight in a one-point loss to Maryland.
"It was different, but I go against the best point guard in America every day in practice, so that prepared me for it," Averette said.
Ahead 17-16, the Cowboys took command with a 12-0 run triggered by a Phil Forte 3-pointer and fueled by seven free throws, pushing the lead to 29-16. The Cowboys forced Tulsa into 11 turnovers and had a 13-rebound advantage in leading 38-30 at the break, thanks partly to two late rebound baskets by
Mitchell Solomon, including a tip-in at the buzzer.
#--/rv UCF 76, Maryland-Eastern Shore 58
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --
Matt Williams scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Central Florida cruise by Maryland-Eastern Shore 76-58 on Saturday.
Williams was 8 of 17 from the field including six 3-pointers for the Knights (7-1) who have won four straight.
Tanksley Efianayi added 20 points and four rebounds and
Tacko Fall had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season.
The team averaged 53 percent shooting from the field compared to 28.4 percent shooting for the Hawks (1-9).
A dunk by
Nick Banyard capped an 11-0 start for the Knights and they never trailed, taking it to 37-25 at the break.
Bakari Copeland sank a pair of 3-pointers early in the second period to cut the UCF lead to 44-36 but five 3-pointers by Williams followed to help make it 62-45 with 7:31 left.
Bakari Copeland scored 16 points for the Hawks.
Tulane 71, Southern Mississippi 64
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) --
Cameron Reynolds hit four 3-pointers and had his first double-double of the season, freshman
Ray Ona Embo scored a season-high 15 points and Tulane snapped a nine-game skid against Southern Miss with a 71-64 win on Saturday night.
Reynolds had 22 points and a season-high 10 rebounds and
Blake Paul scored 10 with seven rebounds for Tulane.
Reynolds hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 16-0 run that made it 18-8 midway through the first half and the Green Wave (3-7) led the rest of the way. Ona Embo scored six in a row and Southern Miss went scoreless for more than five minutes during that stretch.
Tulane took a 30-17 lead into the break and led by as many as 21 in the second half. The Golden Eagles (2-8) used a 21-6 run to pull within six with 20 seconds left, but would get no closer.
Quinton Campbell and
Kevin Holland scored 15 points apiece for Southern Miss. Holland added a career-high eight assists.
#rv/rv Ohio State 64, UConn 60
COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Trevor Thompson's matching double-double -- 17 points and 17 rebounds -- pushed Ohio State past Connecticut, 64-60 on Saturday night.
Adams made a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left and converted a 3-point play eight seconds later to pull UConn within three, but Ohio State's
Marc Loving's free throw put the lead back to four. The Huskies missed their final three shots.
UConn shot 54.2 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 4 of 9 from 3. Adams hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to take a 34-32 lead into halftime.
With 11:08 remaining, OSU began a 7-0 run that claimed a two-point lead highlighted by a
Keita Bates-Diop dunk off an assist from Thompson.
JaQuan Lyle, who converted six straight from the line down the stretch, had 16 points for the Buckeyes.
Jalen Adams and
Vance Jackson led UConn with 19 and 12 points, respectively.
After the under-eight timeout, UConn guard
Rodney Purvis nailed a 3-pointer to end a team field-goal drought of more than five minutes. The Huskies and Buckeyes traded baskets and were tied at 54 at the final media timeout before an OSU 7-0 run.