PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Both Houston and USF battled down the stretch to earn two more victories for the American Athletic Conference on Wednesday night. The Cougars came up clutch against UT-Rio Grande Valley, 58-53, while USF bested Stetson late in the second, 75-71. Tulane fought its way back against Georgia State but came up short, 80-76.
RESULTS
Tulane 76, Georgia State 80
Tulane's furious second-half rally fell short as the Green Wave men's basketball team dropped an 80-76 decision to Georgia State Wednesday afternoon at Avron B. Fogelman Arena at the Devlin Fieldhouse.
Tulane (2-4) trailed by 15 points with 4:35 to go in the game, but the Green Wave responded in a big way with a 12-1 scoring run over the next three minutes to trim Georgia State's (5-2) lead to four, 73-69, with 1:45 remaining.
Freshmen Connor Crabtree, Kevin Zhang and Moses Wood combined to score 11 of the Green Wave's 12 points during the push to put Tulane within striking distance.
However, the Green Wave would get no closer than four points, as the Panthers connected on five free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
Georgia State's Malik Benlevi and D'Marcus Simonds combined for 46 points to lead the way for GSU.
Zhang finished with 23 points and pulled down four rebounds to lead the way for the Green Wave. Fifteen of Zhang's 23 points came in the second half. His 23 points were his highest since his career-high 24-point effort against Florida State in the season opener on Nov. 11.
Tulane also received a strong effort from sophomore guard Caleb Daniels, as he finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. Daniels has now scored in double figures in five straight games.
Redshirt senior guard Jordan Cornish also had strong afternoon as he scored seven points and dished out a career-high eight assists.
Tulane and Georgia State were even on the glass as both teams finished with 33 rebounds.
The Green Wave trailed by 13 at the half, 44-31. In the second half, Tulane held a 45-36 scoring advantage and outrebounded the Panthers by a 45-36 count.
USF 75, Stetson 71
Alexis Yetna led five Bulls in double figures with a career-high 18 points as USF held off hot-shooting Stetson, 75-71, at the Yuengling Center on Wednesday night.
Yetna also registered his third career double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds and his two free throws in the final 2:07 helped secure the Bulls' 14
th-straight victory over the Hatters.
USF (5-2) has posted its most wins in the month of November since the 2014-15 season after withstanding a 56-percent shooting performance in the second half by Stetson (1-7).
Junior guard Laquincy Rideau scored all 12 of his points in the first half that saw the Bulls grab a 40-34 lead. Star sophomore guard David Collins scored eight of his 10 points after the break and his layup spotted USF its largest advantage, 64-54, with 9:45 remaining.
Senior guard T.J. Lang finished with 11 points and his second three-pointer of the night gave the Bulls a six-point cushion with 5:15 to play. Stetson pulled within two with 2:32 remaining but missed two threes in the final minute with USF ahead by three points. Yetna put the game away with two free throws in his fifth straight double-digit scoring performance.
Junior forward Antun Maricevic also was a key contributor, scoring seven of his career-high 10 points after the break and adding four rebounds to help the Bulls finish with a 42-31 edge on the glass.
USF grabbed at least 40 rebounds for the fourth time this season and third time in the past four games.
The Bulls are 10-4 at home against non-conference opponents under head coach Brian Gregory.
Houston 58, UTRGV 53
Senior guard Corey Davis Jr. led all players with 23 points, all in the second half, and sophomore forward Brison Gresham added 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the University of Houston Men's Basketball team to a 58-53 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday in a game presented by Maintenance Supply Headquarters.
Competing in their final home game inside H&PE Arena on the campus of nearby Texas Southern University, the Cougars overcame their coldest shooting performance of their young season. Houston connected on 38.9 percent from the field, including 30.8 percent (8-of-26) in the opening 20 minutes.
However, under the leadership of Davis and senior point guard Galen Robinson Jr., the Cougars rallied multiple times to earn the program's 19th straight home win at H&PE Arena. That ranks as the nation's second-longest active home winning streak.
In a game that featured 18 lead changes and six ties with neither squad building a double-digit lead, Robinson sank the game's biggest shot. With the score tied at 50 and less than a minute remaining, the Houston native and Westbury Christian product drained a 3-pointer from the baseline - his lone trey of the game - to give the Cougars the lead for good.
UTRGV turned the ball over on its next possession and Robinson sank 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled to give Houston a 54-50 advantage with just 27 seconds left.
Davis sank four free throws in the final eight seconds for the final margin of victory. The Lafayette, La., native posted his third 20-point game of the season, including his second straight, and the sixth of his career.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 5-0 for only the 11th time in school history. UTRGV saw its two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-4.
Following the game, Head Coach Kelvin Sampson took the public address microphone and thanked Texas Southern University and Athletics administrators for their support and generosity as hosts during the last 18 months as the Fertitta Center underwent renovations.
UPCOMING GAMES