PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team continues to roll as of late as they earned their fourth-consecutive win with a 71-55 victory over George Mason on Friday. Memphis was also victorious over Canisius, 71-63, while Tulsa played the No. 6 team in the country, Nevada, to a 10-point game, 96-86, on Thanksgiving.
RESULTS
Cincinnati 71, George Mason 55
Cincinnati used a stifling defense to hold George Mason to a season-low in point production en route to a 71-55 victory Friday night, while moving into the championship of the Emerald Coast Classic.
Cincinnati advances to Saturday's championship, for the second time in five years and will meet the winner of the Baylor-Ole Miss game, which was played later Friday. Ole Miss beat Cincinnati to win the inaugural 2014 Emerald Coast Classic. The championship game tips at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and 700 WLW.
Senior reserve guard Cane Broome scored a season-high 21 points for the Bearcats who improved to 4-1.
Clinging to a 7-6 lead, Broome came off the bench hitting a pair of free throws and a layup in a 49-second span allowing Cincinnati to build a 11-6 lead and the Bearcats were never threatened.
Broome had 10 points in the first half helping stake Cincinnati to a 32-23 halftime lead.
Memphis 71, Canisius 63
Mike Parks, making his first start of the season, Kyvon Davenport, making his first appearance off the bench as a Tiger and Antwann Jones, a former prep star in the Orlando area, had key contributions in Friday's 71-63 win over Canisius in the consolation bracket.
Parks scored 14 points in 17 minutes, Davenport added a double-double (16 point, 10 rebounds in 21 minutes) and Jones scored a career-high 14 points in 18 minutes, as the trio proved to be productive and efficient.
While the Tigers led 40-31 at the half, they allowed Canisius to scrap back and trim what was a 14-point Memphis advantage to six points (30-24) with about five minutes left in the half.
A solid finish by Davenport helped the Tigers go up by nine points at halftime.
The Tigers shot 50 percent (18-of-36) in the first half, including 17-of-28 from inside the arc. Jones had reached his career high in points at the half with 10.
Tulsa 69, Southern Illinois 79
Southern Illinois shot 65.2-percent in the second half and went on a 15-0 run on its way to a 79-69 win on Friday night in the consolation game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational at Orleans Arena.
Martins Igbanu led the way for the Golden Hurricane (4-2) with 15 points and he was joined in double-figures by Curran Scott (11 points) and Elijah Joiner (10 points). Tulsa was limited to 39.3-percent shooting over the final 20 minutes and 43.1-percent for the game.
Meanwhile, Eric McGill's 14 points paced the Salukis (3-3), who went 11-of-18 from behind the arc for the contest.
Tulsa cut the deficit to five points twice in the final 5:10, but could not get any closer as the Salukis took the 79-69 final.
Memphis 64, Oklahoma State 84 - Thursday
Tyler Harris scored 14 points, Kyvon Davenport added 12 and two others - Jeremiah Martin and Kareem Brewton -- finished with 10 apiece, but the University of Memphis dropped its opening-round game Thursday in the AdvoCare Invitational at HP Fieldhouse.
Oklahoma State placed six players in double figures, led by Thomas Dziagwa's 14 points, to post an 84-64 victory. Memphis (2-2) will play Canisius at 12:30 p.m. (CT) today. Canisius lost, 83-56, to defending national champion Villanova in the first game.
The Tigers were undone by poor shooting and by being beaten on the boards. Memphis shot 31.4 percent in the second half and 36.4 percent for the game. The Cowboys (3-1) outrebounded the Tigers, 40-30, and blocked 10 Memphis shot attempts.
Oklahoma State's 6-foot-10 freshman forward Yor Anei blocked six shots and was 6-of-7 shooting. He had 12 points.
Tulsa 86, No. 6/7 Nevada 96 - Thursday
Sterling Taplin scored a season-high 22 points and Tulsa shot a season-high 53.7-percent, but No. 6 Nevada made 11 3-pointers and 35 free throws on its way to a 96-86 win on Thursday at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational.
Taplin went 7-for-11 from the field, including a pair of triples, and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to pace the Golden Hurricane (4-1). He also added seven assists to help Tulsa to one of its best offensive showings of the season against the Wolf Pack (5-0), who came in allowing opponents to score just 61.2 ppg and shoot 36.4-percent.
Taplin was joined in double-figures by Martins Igbanu (14 points) and Curran Scott (10 points), while Simon Falokun also contributed a season-high 10 points.
Jordan Carolina led the Wolf Pack (5-0) with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Caleb Martin hit all 10 of his free throws to offset a 4-for-16 shooting effort on his way to 21 points, while Jazz Johnson hit 5 3-pointers off the bench for 20 points.
Nevada shot 43.9-percent from the floor and attempted 15 more free throws than the Golden Hurricane.
UPCOMING GAMES