The American men's basketball teams went 2-1 in Friday night action. UConn and Memphis picked up road wins, while ECU fell on the road at Navy as part of the Veterans Classic.

UConn 89, Sacred Heart 67 - Box Score

STORRS, Conn. (AP) -- UConn coach Dan Hurley says he has a team filled with nice, quiet guys.

He didn't mean it as a compliment.

Josh Carlton scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and Christian Vital added 15 of his 17 points after intermission to help the Huskies overcome a lethargic start and turn a three-point halftime lead into an 89-67 win over in-state rival Sacred Heart.

Hurley said he was disappointed that his team didn't come out of the gate with more energy.

''I wish the team would take on (Vital's) personality of toughness and self-belief,'' Hurley said. ''That's got to run through your team. You look at it, you see it. We need to have a collective swagger about us that players who play at UConn should have.''

Carlton opened the second half with four straight baskets in the paint, part of a 14-2 run that gave UConn a 54-39 advantage. Vital capped the run with a pair of 3-pointers that put the Huskies in control of the game.

Sophomore Brendan Adams, who finished with a career-high 15 points, gave the Huskies a 21-point lead at 64-43 with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Sacred Heart scored 15 of the next 20 points, cutting the lead to 69-58 on a layup by Jarel Spellman.

But after a timeout, the Huskies scored the next 12 points to put the Pioneers away.

''I think we settled in and then did what we were supposed to do in the second half,'' Vital said.

Sidney Wilson finished with 13 points for the Huskies and Tyler Polley chipped in with 10

Kinnon LaRose had 15 points and E.J. Anosike finished with 12 points for Sacred Heart, which falls to 0-2.

Anosike, who had 20 points in Sacred Heart's 106-60 loss at Providence on Tuesday, fouled out midway through the second half. He joined teammate Zach Plaffenberger, who picked up four first-half fouls and committed another less than six minutes after intermission.

Spellman, who had a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds fouled out late in the game.

UConn led 40-37 at the halftime, despite being outrebounded 28-13 in the first 20 minutes, including 11-3 on the offensive end. Sacred Heart finished with a 49-41 advantage on the boards.

Memphis 92, UIC 46 - Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Boogie Ellis drained six 3-pointers – one trey shy of a University of Memphis freshman record – and James Wiseman added 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocks to lead the 14th-ranked Tigers past UIC, 92-46, Friday night at FedExForum.
 
Ellis scored 18 of his points in the first half to lead the offensive charge and the UofM defense contributed, too, holding the Flames to 20 percent shooting in the first half and 24.2 percent for the game.
 
Four members of the Tigers' heralded recruiting class – Ellis, Wiseman, D.J. Jeffries and Precious Achiuwa – scored in double figures. Jeffries had 14 and Achiuwa had 10. Sophomore Tyler Harris added 11, including going 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
 
"I was really proud of the young guys, they did some really special stuff out there on the floor defensively tonight," said Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. "The only (disappointment) was (UIC) had 16 offensive rebounds, but I get it with young guys. When you're blowing teams out you start not focusing on the small things.
 
"We're not good enough to do that yet because we're about to go on the road (vs. Oregon Nov. 12) and get a test. But, other than that, to hold them to 24 percent shooting from the field, to me, is major."
 
The Tigers (2-0) shot 52 percent from 3-point range (14-of-27) and outrebounded the Flames (1-1) by 10, 43-33. The UofM also had 37 bench points, the bulk (34 points) coming from Jeffries (14), Harris (11) and Alex Lomax (9).

Navy 62, East Carolina 57 - Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- John Carter Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Navy used a second-half surge to beat East Carolina 62-57 Friday night in the Veterans Classic.

The Midshipmen (1-1) trailed 38-31 with 14 minutes left and 47-43 with 6 1/2 minutes to go before finishing with a 19-10 run.

Cam Davis scored 14 and Greg Summers added 13 for Navy, which evened its record after falling to George Mason in overtime three days earlier.

Jayden Gardner led the Pirates (1-1) with 15 points and Seth LeDay had 11.

After going 10-21 in his first season at East Carolina, coach Joe Dooley signed seven junior college transfers and four freshmen. The Pirates' 11 newcomers are most in the country, and it's apparent that they're still learning how to play together.

The Pirates had 19 turnovers, shot 41 percent and were outscored 39-28 in the second half.

After falling behind 29-23 at halftime, Navy made little headway until Carter made two free throws and a 3-pointer to spark a 12-2 run that gave the Midshipmen their first lead since the game's opening minutes.

LeDay then sandwiched a pair of dunks around a 3-point bank shot by J.J. Miles for a four-point advantage, but Navy answered with a 9-2 spurt that began with a three-point play by Davis and four straight free throws by Summers.

The Midshipmen stayed in front by sinking six free throws over the final 42 seconds.