PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference picked up six more men’s basketball victories on Friday night with UCF advancing the championship game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational and Temple moving to 4-0 and the top of The American standings. Tulsa and USF also moved to 3-0 while Wichita State and Cincinnati also earned wins;
RESULTS
UCF 77, Saint Joseph’s 57
UCF team continued its strong play in South Carolina on Friday, defeating Saint Joseph’s,77-57, to advance to the Myrtle Beach Invitational Championship Game.
In the title contest, the Knights (3-1) will take on the winner of Friday night’s second semifinal between West Virginia and Western Kentucky. The championship tips off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. from the HTC Center with coverage on ESPN2 and FM 96.9 The Game.
In order to get there, UCF held two straight opponents under 60 points, something the Knights did 13 times a year ago. On Friday it was against a Saint Joseph’s (3-1) team that advanced to the semifinals after defeating Wake Forest, 89-69.
The Hawks could never fully get a handle on the UCF defense, shooting just 38.2 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from three-point range.
The Knights, meanwhile, had the offense humming at times, connecting on 55 percent from the field and going 10-of-21 from three-point range. Coming into Friday’s game, UCF had only made 15-of-57 threes in its first three games of the 2018-19 season.
It was junior point guard Terrell Allen leading the way offensively. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native scored a career-high 22 points and went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Allen was 8-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-2 from the line, and added a game high six assists with just one turnover.
While Allen got it done on the outside, Tacko Fall was dominant once again on the inside. The 7-foot-6 center went 6-for-8 from the floor, totaling 12 points, and adding game highs of nine rebounds and four blocks.
In all, the Knights outrebounded the Hawks by a margin of 40-25 and outscored Saint Joe’s 38-18 in the paint. UCF also scored 14 points off of 11 offensive rebounds.
Four UCF players finished in double figures, as Aubrey Dawkins scored 13 and added six rebounds, while newcomer Frank Bertz totaled 10 points. Both guards connected on a pair of three-pointers in the victory.
It marks the second time in three years that the Knights will play for an in-season tournament championship. In 2016-17, UCF defeated Mississippi State and Charleston before falling to Villanova in the title game of the Charleston Classic.
Wichita State 82, Appalachian State 76
Markis McDuffie scored 15 of his team-high 24 points over the final six minutes to lead Wichita State past Appalachian State, 82-76, Friday night in the consolation bracket of the Charleston Invitational.
WSU (2-2) will face Alabama (3-1) in Sunday's fifth-place game beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
McDuffie finished with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He was 4-of-6 from three.
Jaime Echenique logged WSU's first double-double of the year, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jamarius Burton and Samajae Haynes-Jones scored 14 points each. Burton added six assists with just two turnovers. Erik Stevenson snagged a personal-best nine rebounds to go with six points, three assists and two steals.
WSU trailed 66-61 with 6:18 to go when its senior leader took over. McDuffie scored points on four of the next five Shocker possessions. His three at the 6:03-mark made it a two-point game. Another with 4:08 to go put WSU back in front, 69-68.
The Shockers led the rest of the way. McDuffie nailed his third-straight triple to make it 72-68. His layup pushed the lead to five, 75-70, with 1:45 to go.
Appalachian State scored on its next three possession to make a game of it. After a Shocker turnover, the Mountaineers had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds. Ronshad Shabazz missed a jumper with 12 seconds showing, and Stevenson snagged the rebound, forcing the Mountaineers to foul.
Stevenson hit the first of two free throws for a three-point lead but came up empty on the second. McDuffie grabbed a crucial offensive rebound for the Shockers with 10 seconds on the clock, then calmly sank two free throws to put the game on ice.
WSU trailed 31-25 near the 7:00-mark of the first half but closed the period with a 19-4 push. The Shockers held the Mountaineers to just one field goal over the final 7:27 before halftime and led 44-35 heading into the locker room.
Tulsa 82, Cal Baptist 79
DaQuan Jeffries scored nine of his team-high 19 points in the final six minutes to help Tulsa rally and defeat California Baptist, 82-79, on Friday afternoon in the second annual Blackboards & Backboards Educational Day game at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Jeffries went 4-for-8 from the field and hit all nine of his free throws to propel the Golden Hurricane to its second 3-0 start under head coach Frank Haith. Martins Igbanu scored 18 points as TU held a 40-26 advantage in the paint and Elijah Joiner came off the bench to add 10 points.
The Hurricane shot 46.2-percent and 75-percent (30-for-40) at the free-throw line as it also began play in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. TU will host Little Rock (2-0) at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19 before heading to Las Vegas for matchups on Nov. 22-23.
The contest featured 10 ties and nine lead changes and was watched by nearly 3,500 local school children thanks to a generous donation by Gary and Anita Rathburn.
Meanwhile, Milan Acquaah posted a double-double with 20 points on 7-of-24 shooting to go along with 11 assists for the Lancers (2-1). CBU shot 39.7-percent from the field, but kept the game close with 13 3-pointers, while it attempted a TU opponent-record 42 triples.
An old fashioned three-point play from Zach Pirog with 5:19 to play broke a 69-all tie before Jeffries and Joiner helped the Hurricane outscore California Baptist 13-7 the rest of the way for the win.
Jeffries answered right away with a 3-pointer before knocking down a pair of free throws. Joiner also hit two at the charity stripe to pull within 77-76 and TU took the lead on Jeffries's offensive rebound and layup made it 78-77 with 96 seconds remaining.
The Lancers would tie it up at the free throw line with 1:25 left, but Joiner and Jeffries each made free throws down the stretch, while the Hurricane defense came up with enough stops to hold on for the 82-79 win.
The Hurricane got off to a quick start in the first half with a 10-2 spurt out of the gate, but CBU recovered with the help of eight 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. TU held a 28-20 advantage with eight minutes to go in the half, but Mike Henn scored 13 of his 15 points off the bench in the first half to give the visitors a 43-42 lead at halftime.
The Lancers led by as much as five points, 58-53, with 12:49 to play before a quick 5-0 spurt from TU knotted the score. CBU answered the Tulsa runs and neither team led by more than a basket in the final 12-and-a-half minutes.
USF 73, Ohio 46
Alexis Yetna scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead USF to a 73-46 victory over Ohio Friday evening in the second round of the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.
T.J. Lang and Justin Brown also scored 11 points and freshman Michael Durr added 10 points and four rebounds.
Teyvion Kirk paced Ohio with 13 points and Antonio Cowart finished in double figures with 10 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals.
Ohio (2-1) led 12-7 midway through the first half on a basket from Kirk, but USF answered with a 26-3 run to close the half and build an 33-15 lead. The Bobcats were held to just one free throw and a basket by Ben Vander Plas over the final 11:31 of the first half.
The Bobcats managed to cut the lead to 16 three times in the second half but would get no closer. The Bulls would lead by as many as 29 points en route to the largest victory under head coach Brian Gregory. Last season, USF won at Memphis by 24 points.
Cincinnati 74, Milwaukee 63
It always comes back to defense and rebounding for Cincinnati, and the Bearcats had enough of both to get another win on Friday night. Trevon Scott and Nysier Brooks each had a double-double, and Cincinnati broke open a close game in the second half for a 74-63 victory over Milwaukee.
Cane Broome had a team-high 17 points, and the Bearcats finished with five players in double figures. Scott had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Brooks got 12 and 10 -- the first set of Cincinnati players with double-doubles since Gary Clark and Kyle Washington pulled it off at Iowa State on Dec. 1, 2016.
Broome struggled with his shot during an opening 64-56 home loss to Ohio State and didn't start the next game, a 73-51 win over North Carolina Central . He made 8 of 12 shots on Friday, regaining some confidence.
Cincinnati point guard Justin Jenifer had a stomach virus and didn't play, costing Cincinnati its best perimeter defender. Coach Mick Cronin wasn't happy with the way Milwaukee shot 52 percent in the first half .
Carson Warren-Newsome had 18 points for Milwaukee (0-4), which was outrebounded 37-25. The Panthers are 0-4 for the first time since 1994-95, when they dropped their first seven games.
The Panthers opened the game with a 12-3 run, making five of their first seven shots, and kept it close most of the way.
The Panthers led 49-48 when Jarron Cumberland made a 3-pointer, Broome hit a pull-up jumper, and Cumberland made a floater in the lane for a six-point lead the Bearcats wouldn't relinquish. Broome added a pair of baskets that pushed the lead to 11 points.
UConn 72, Iowa 91
Despite a career-night from Eric Cobb and a solid second-half showing from Jalen Adams, the UConn men's basketball team dropped the championship game of the 2K Empire Classic, 91-72, to Iowa on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. UConn falls to 3-1 on the season, while Iowa moves to 4-0.
Adams led the Huskies with 20 points on 8-18 shooting, while Cobb surpassed his previous career-high, pouring in 16 points on a 7-for-8 mark from the field and also snagging seven boards.
Alterique Gilbert and Christian Vital added 12 and 10 points apiece, respectively.
The Huskies fell behind early behind turnovers, foul trouble, and an 0-13 start from beyond the arc that proved to be too much to overcome. UConn trailed by as many as 24 points, but the relentlessness and determination allowed the team to bring itself within 13 points late in the second half.
Iowa received twenty-point efforts from Tyler Cook (26) and Luka Garza (22) to deal the Huskies their first setback of the year.
ECU 54, Georgia Tech 79
Curtis Haywood II scored a career-high 18 points Friday, and Georgia Tech overcame a slow start to defeat ECU, 79-54.
Jayden Gardner scored 13 points for ECU (2-2), DeShaun Wade scored 12 and Seth LeDay added nine points and nine rebounds off the bench, but the Pirates could not overcome 22 turnovers and a big difference in 3-point shooting.
Tech made 9-of-17 to East Carolina's 2-of-17, and the Jackets (3-1) coasted after building a 40-24 halftime lead.
The Jackets made 12 3-pointers in a season-opening win over Lamar, which was the most made in a game in head coach Josh Pastner's two-plus seasons at the helm, but then shot just 27.6 percent from the field in Tuesday's 66-53 loss at Tennessee, the lowest percentage in Pastner's tenure. Friday, they hit 9-of-17 (.529) long shots.
The Pirates held each of their first three opponents (Delaware State, James Madison and Lamar) under 30 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
ECU made just 2 of 17 outside the arc and were a mere 21 of 59 overall shooting, 35.6 percent. Tech finished the game shooting 49.1 percent (26 of 53).
Jose Alvarado added nine points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals for Tech and Michael Devoe, had 13 points and four steals.
The Jackets missed eight of their first 10 shots and fell behind 9-2 before warming to a 40-24 halftime.
Tech pulled away in the middle of the first half when Haywood hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions before Shembari Phillips followed with a third straight long ball and a bank shot for a 34-18 lead.
The Pirates entered the game ranked among the NCAA leaders in total free throws made and attempted as well as steals. Against the Yellow Jackets the were just 10 of 19 from the foul line and collected only eight steals.
Temple 81, Loyola 67
Behind four players in double figures in scoring and a 16-0 run to start the game, Temple men's basketball improved to 4-0 with an 81-67 win over Loyola Maryland (1-3) as part of the GotPrint.com Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper.
It was the fourth of four straight home games to start the season for the Owls (4-0), who will now play their next five contests away from home.
Temple never trailed in the game, exploding for a 16-0 run out of the gate. The Greyhounds kept it nearly even from there, but never got within fewer than six in the first half or nine in the second.
The Owls shot 46.3 percent from the field and 81 percent at the free throw line (13-for-16).
Much of Loyola Marymount's points came off nine three-pointers, while the Owls finished with a 44-26 lead in points in the paint.
The Owls' 4-0 start is their best since a 6-0 start in the 2012-13 season. That year's team went 24-10 and advanced to the NCAA Second Round.
Senior Shizz Alston, Jr., honored before the game with a 1,000-point basketball, led all players with 18 points and hit 4-of-7 from long range.
Sophomore Nate Pierre-Louis put up a season-high 16 points, while junior Quinton Rose also scored 16 and added a career and game-high six assists. Rounding out four Owls in double figures was senior Ernest Aflakpui with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
Sophomore J.P. Moorman II dished a career-high five assists while scoring four points and tying for team-high honors with six rebounds.
UPCOMING GAMES
| SATURDAY11.17.18MEN'S BASKETBALL |
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Lipscomb |
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SMU |
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7 p.m. |
Dallas, Texas |
Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPN3 |
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Yale |
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Memphis |
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|
8 p.m. |
Memphis, Tenn. |
Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPN3 |
| SUNDAY11.18.18MEN'S BASKETBALL |
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Georgetown |
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USF |
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Noon |
Montego Bay, Jamaica |
Live Video TV:CBS Sports Network |
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Alabama |
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Wichita State |
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1:30 p.m. |
Charleston, S.C. |
Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNU |
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Western Kentucky |
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UCF |
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6:30 p.m. |
Conway, S.C. |
Live Stats TV:ESPN2 |