PROVIDENCE, R.I. - With rv/rv UCF and Memphis' American Athletic Conference victories on Sunday night, half of the league's men's basketball teams now have three wins over the first two weeks of conference play. UCF overcame a monster performance from ECU's Jayden Gardner (35 points, 20 rebounds) and remain the lone undefeated team in league action. Memphis also held off a late rally by Tulane to improve to 3-1.


Sunday, January 13

rv/rv UCF 76, ECU 65	Box Score
Memphis 83, Tulane 79	Box Score

rv/rv UCF 76, ECU 65

UCF extended its win streak to seven games, its longest since the 2010-11 season, winning 76-65 over ECU to remain in first place in the American Athletic Conference standings at 3-0.

The Knights (13-2, 3-0) sprinted out to a 37-19 first-half lead and stayed out in front from wire-to-wire to top the Pirates (8-8, 1-3) for the seventh straight time.

While ECU was unable to find a way past UCF, the Pirates were kept in the game by a historic performance from freshman Jayden Gardner. Gardner led the Pirates with a career-high 35 points and 20 rebounds, also an ECU freshman record, to collect his seventh double-double of the season. Gardner now has three games with 30-or-more points this season, three away from tying the conference record of six set by Houston's Rob Gray last season.

It was the first 35-point performance by freshman in conference history and only the third 20-rebound game by any classification of player. Gardner became the first Pirate since 1966 to have more than 30 points and 20 rebounds in the same game.

UCF led 38-26 at the break, as Aubrey Dawkins - the team's leading scorer in the three of the last four games - had just three points. Collin Smith and Tacko Fall led the way with 10 points and nine points, respectively, going an identical 4-for-4 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half it was Dawkins who stepped up, scoring 15 of his team-high 18 in the frame. He connected on back-to-back buckets early in the second as part of a UCF 6-0 run, and then knocked down back-to-back threes less than a minute later, giving the Knights a 50-29 advantage, their largest lead of the night.

Dawkins finished 6-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, while adding six rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and a steal. It was his 15th straight game scoring in double figures, the first UCF player to score in double figures in each of his first 15 games as a Knight.

Plagued by rebounding woes the last few times out, the Knights didn't struggle to board against the Pirates, outrebounding ECU 45-38 in the game. After not coming up with a single offensive board last week at UConn, UCF had 16 on Sunday, which led to a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.

Four Knights finished in double figures, as BJ Taylor totaled 14 points and a game-high six assists, Smith finished with 12 points and eight boards, and Fall ended up with 10 points and seven boards in the victory.

Terrell Allen and Chad Brown also added nine points and eight rebounds each. Allen's eight boards tied a career-high and he added four steals.


Memphis 83, Tulane 79

Memphis won its first American Athletic Conference road game Sunday at Fogelman Arena, but the Tigers had to outlast a determined, late-game comeback try by Tulane.

What once was an 18-point Memphis advantage dwindled to two points in the closing minutes, before the Tigers escaped with an 83-79 victory.

Jeremiah Martin led the UofM (11-6, 3-1 The American) with a season-high 27 points and Kyvon Davenport added 17. Raynere Thornton scored 12.

Martin's clutch play in the final three minutes, including two free throws with 13 seconds, helped seal the win.

The Tigers built an 18-point lead early in the second half at 54-36 following a Davenport three-point play, but Tulane (4-12, 0-4 The American) refused to fold.

Behind Kevin Zhang, who finished with a career-high 25 points, the Green Wave trimmed the Memphis lead to 10 on several occasions early in the half before making a run that nearly erased the Tigers' advantage.

A Kareem Brewton Jr., floater in the lane increased the UofM lead to 14 (71-57) midway through the half, but Tulane made another run in the closing minutes. Blake Paul scored on a 17-footer and Caleb Daniels followed with a putback to make it 74-68 with 4:10 left.

A Jordan Cornish layup with 2:48 to go allowed the Green Wave to cut it to two, before the Tigers recovered.

In the first half, the Tigers shot 51.5 percent and made 6 of 13 from beyond the arc to grab a 49-34 advantage.

Martin had 21 of his points at the half by connecting on 8 of 10 field goals, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. The 21 points were one shy of his season high.

Tulane stayed close for most of the half by dominating on the boards. The Green Wave had 27 rebounds at the half, eight more than the Tigers.

When Tulane trimmed what had been a 13-point UofM lead to five points (37-32) late in the first half, Martin went on a personal scoring run. He dropped in eight straight (two 3-pointers and a driving layup) and followed by assisting on a Tyler Harris layup for a 47-34 lead.

The Tigers limited Tulane to 31.4 percent shooting in the opening half, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range.


UPCOMING GAMES

TUESDAY 1.15.19
	USF			Cincinnati			7 p.m.	Cincinnati, Ohio	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNEWS
WEDNESDAY 1.16.19
	Temple			ECU			7 p.m.	Greenville, N.C.	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPN3
	UConn			Tulsa			7 p.m.	Tulsa, Okla.	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNEWS
	Houston			SMU			9 p.m.	Dallas, Texas	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNEWS
	UCF			Wichita State			10 p.m.	Wichita, Kan.	Live Stats Live Video TV:CBSSN
SATURDAY 1.19.19
	Tulsa			UCF			Noon	Orlando, Fla.	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNU
	Cincinnati			Wichita State			2 p.m.	Wichita, Kan.	Live Stats Live Video TV:CBS
	SMU			Memphis			4 p.m.	Memphis, Tenn.	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNU
	Penn			Temple			5 p.m.	Philadelphia, Pa.	Live Stats Live Video TV:CBSSN
	Tulane			UConn			7:30 p.m.	Hartford, Conn.	Live Stats Live Video TV:CBSSN
	Houston			USF			8 p.m.	Tampa, Fla.	Live Stats Live Video TV:ESPNU