#AmericanHoops Scoreboard
SMU 75, East Carolina 44
Houston 70, USF 56
Tulsa 61, UConn 59 (ot)
UCF 77, Temple 53
SMU 75, East Carolina 44
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Ben Moore scored 18 points and all five SMU starters finished in double figures as the Mustangs cruised to a 75-44 win over East Carolina on Saturday.
Moore finished 8 of 10 from the field and added 11 rebounds. Shake Milton finished with 14 points, Sterling Brown had 13, while Jarrey Foster and Semi Ojeleye added 12 apiece for the Mustangs (12-3, 2-0 American).
SMU has won eight straight to finish the month of December undefeated. The Mustangs last lost to Boise State on Nov. 30.
SMU shot just 41.7 percent from the field but held East Carolina to 35.3 percent overall and 15 percent from 3-point range.
Kentrell Barkley led East Carolina with 13 points, while Elijah Hughes added 10.
Two Milton free throws gave the Mustangs a 10-point lead at halftime, and a Ben Emelogu II trey made it 53-33 with 9:20 remaining. East Carolina never got back within 20.
Houston 70, USF 56
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Rob Gray scored 25 points and Damyean Dotson tied his career-high with 25 points as the duo helped lead Houston past South Florida 70-56 on Saturday.
Houston (11-3, 2-0 American Athletic) led 38-34 at halftime, and Troy Holston's jumper with 16:33 to go brought the Bulls to within 42-40. Gray responded with a 3, and Wes VanBeck made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to seven.
The Cougars then went on a 12-1 run in which Dotson had a 3, a layup and a dunk and the score was 59-41. South Florida (6-7, 0-2) was never able to bring the deficit to within single digits.
Houston got its first lead of the game at 33-32 on Gray's layup with 2:37 before halftime.
VanBeck added 11 points for the Cougars.
Holston led the Bulls with 16 points, Malik Fitts finished with 12 points and six rebounds and Tulio Da Silva added 10 points and five boards.
Tulsa 61, UConn 59 (ot)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- As Tulsa's leading returning scorer and a 3-point specialist, Pat Birt is undeterred by a slow start to a game or a season.
"It's all about the next shot, you can't dwell on the past," said Birt, whose 13 points in the second-half and overtime after an 0-for-7 start on 3-pointers helped Tulsa edge UConn 61-59 Saturday
Birt's steal and layup with 1:12 left gave put Tulsa ahead 60-59, then he made one of two free throws with 3.2 seconds left. He made two crucial 3-pointers late in regulation that helped Tulsa forge a 56-56 tie.
UConn's Jalen Adams, who led all scorers with 18 points, missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"Adams is one of the best guards in the conference and he was a handful for us today," said Tulsa coach Frank Haith. "But I thought we showed some great fight today. We talked as a team (after losing two of three in Hawaii) about our identity and what Tulsa basketball has meant and I thought we got back to a little bit of that today."
Birt made a steal and layup with 1:12 left to put Tulsa ahead 60-59 Adams missed a 3-pointer and Tulsa secured the rebound. Following a timeout, Birt missed a 3-pointer, teammate Will Magnay rebounded, but double dribbled, giving the ball back to UConn with 15.9 seconds remaining. But Rodney Purvis, who scored 12 points, missed a 3-pointer from the left corner.
Sterling Taplin had 13 points and six assists and was credited by Haith with playing an excellent floor game for Tulsa (7-6, 1-0 American Athletic Conference). Junior Etou scored nine and Martins Igbanu had eight points and seven rebounds.
Amida Brimah had nine rebounds, eight points and six blocks for UConn (5-8,, 0-2). The Huskies had 10 blocks but Tulsa continued to attack and finished with 28 points in the paint, four more than the taller Huskies.
Adams scored eight consecutive points for UConn down the stretch in regulation, including a pull-up jumper with 1:03 left, to give UConn a 56-54 lead. He had a chance to cement the win, but missed a drive with 15 seconds left and Tulsa's Jaleel Wheeler converted on a twisting layup over the 7-foot Brimah with seven seconds left to force overtime.
The Huskies pulled ahead 41-34 before a 12-0 run sparked by six points by Igbanu gave Tulsa its largest lead at 46-41 with 7:51 left. UConn pulled back into a 48-48 tie. UConn shot 40 percent while holding Tulsa to 36 percent but had 17 turnovers to 11 for Tulsa. Tulsa made just 5 of 26 3-pointers (19.2 percent).
The Huskies, coming off a miserable first half in a 62-46 home loss to Houston, made 4 of 6 3-pointers, including 2 of 3 by Adams while Purvis made both his attempts, in taking a 28-27 halftime lead.
UCF 77, Temple 53
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Tacko Fall and Matt Williams scored 17 points apiece and Central Florida set an American Athletic Conference defensive record in a 77-53 win on Saturday.
The Knights led by 27 at the half, holding Temple to 11 points for the fewest points allowed in a half. Just three days before, Houston led UConn 36-12 at the half.
Tanksley Efianayi added 12 points for Central Florida (11-3, 2-0) and Nick Banyard had 11 rebounds to go with seven points. The Knights had a 53-31 rebounding advantage.
Temple (9-6, 0-2), which was 2-2 against ranked opponents this season and handed West Virginia and Florida State their only losses, was just 4 of 29 in the first half, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range. Williams outscored the Owls with 14 points and the Knights had more points from the foul line, going 13 of 16, and had a 28-12 rebounding advantage.
The Owls scored the first basket of the game before Central Florida reeled off the next 15. The teams traded baskets on four consecutive possessions before the Knights scored 10 straight.