PROVIDENCE, R.I. - In a busy Wednesday night of American Athletic Conference men's basketball action featuring three games that all tipped at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN Networks, UCF, Temple and Memphis were able to come away with wins. The Knights won at home against in-state rival USF in the War on I4, 78-65, behind a strong performance from Tacko Fall. The Owls joined UCF with eight league wins as they held off SMU, 82-74, for a home win. The Tigers earned a road victory at ECU, 79-69, as Jeremiah Martin scored 31 points to move up to ninth all-time in scoring for The American with 1,344 points.
Wednesday, February 13
UCF 78, USF 65
UCF defeated USF for the seventh time in a row on Wednesday night, winning 78-65 to improve to 18-5 on the season and 8-3 in American Athletic Conference play.
After successfully winning his 23rd straight tipoff of the season, Tacko Fall scored the first bucket of the game, as the Knights sprinted out to a 13-0 lead in just under four minutes of game action.
Fall finished with a game and season-high 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. He added nine rebounds and five blocked shots. He got to the line a school record 21 times. And for coming in shooting just 30 percent from the line, he connected on 9-of-21 (43%).
The Bulls (17-7, 7-5), who came in ranked third in The American in field goal percentage defense at 40.7 percent, saw UCF finish 54.5 percent from the floor, the Knights' eighth time shooting over 50 percent this season.
David Collins scored 20 points for his fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Justin Brown added 12 points and made three 3-pointers, and Laquincy Rideau finished with 10 points, five assist and five steals.
UCF extended its lead to 18 points, at 22-4 on a three-pointer by Dayon Griffin, and led by as many as 19 in the first half before the Bulls made a run. A three-point play by South Florida's Justin Brown cut it to just 10 points with under a minute left to play.
Terrell Allen gave the Knights the boost they needed heading into the break though, knocking down a three as the buzzer sounded to make it 39-25 at the half.
Allen, who hadn't scored in double figures since the conference opener on Jan. 2, was solid all night, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point range, four assists and no turnovers.
Allen's second bucket of the second half sparked another run for the Knights, one that basically put the game out of reach. A 14-2 spurt, capped by a conventional three-point play by Collin Smith, put UCF up 60-34 with 12:32 to play in the game and the Knights cruised to the 78-65 victory.
A team victory all the way around, four Knights scored in double figures and Smith finished with nine. Allen had 14, BJ Taylor added 13 to go with seven assists and just one turnover, and Aubrey Dawkins chipped in with 10 points.
The Knights also won the battle of the boards, 37-34, to improve to 16-0 when either matching or topping their opponents rebound total. South Florida came into Wednesday's game second in the league with a 6.9 rebound margin.
Temple 82, SMU 74
With 28 points including 19 in the second half, senior guard Shizz Alston, Jr. led Temple to an 82-74 win in a battle vs. SMU (12-12, 4-8). The Owls (18-7, 8-4), who earned their 10th home win, broke away in the final minutes of a game that saw nine ties overall.
The first half stayed tight throughout, with five ties and neither team leading by more than two possessions.
The halftime score was the fifth tie of the game at 34-34, and the second half saw one more early tie and then two near the four-minute mark.
Alston took over the game for a nearly seven-minute stretch, scoring 13 straight Temple points, including eight in an 11-2 run. That finally gave the Owls a nine-point lead (76-67) and some breathing room with a minute and 16 seconds remaining.
Nate Pierre-Louis dunked on a J.P. Moorman II assist with 20 seconds left and the Owls hit enough free throws to keep at least a two-possession advantage in the final minute.
The win was the 10th for the Owls in the Liacouras Center; giving head coach Fran Dunphy nine 10-win seasons in the building in his 13 years with the program.
Alston hit seven of his final eight field-goal attempts and went 10-of-19 overall while hitting 5-of-5 at the line.
Pierre-Louis added eight rebounds to 16 points, and Quinton Rose recorded a game-high three steals to go with 15 points.
Jahmal McMurray had 22 points for the Mustangs, who have now lost five games in a row. Ethan Chargois added 17 points and eight rebounds. Isiaha Mike had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Leading the Owls on the glass was Ernest Aflakpui with 10 rebounds, and Moorman dished a career and game-high seven assists while also grabbing nine boards.
Memphis 79, ECU 69
Jeremiah Martin scored a game-high 31 points and Memphis shot 56-percent to claim a 79-69 American Athletic Conference victory over ECU Wednesday at Minges Coliseum.
The Tigers (15-10, 7-5) won their second straight - and their second league road game - by outlasting several determined runs in the second half by ECU, which slipped to 9-15 overall and 2-10 in league play.
Martin is now up 1,344 career points and passed his head coach, Penny Hardaway, on Memphis' all-time scoring list in the first half. Martin ranks 17
th in the record books for the Tigers and ninth all-time in The American.
Memphis made 28-of-50 shots and 17-of-25 free throws to start the two-game road trip with a win.
The Tigers also got 12 points from Mike Parks Jr., who was 5-of-5 from the field, and a solid effort from freshman reserve guard Alex Lomax. Lomax had six assists and only one turnover. Isaiah Maurice added nine points and seven rebounds.
ECU's Set LeDay finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates, while Shawn Williams scored 14, Jayden Gardner 13 with K.J. Davis and Tyler Foster netting 10 each.
Memphis held ECU to 39.7 percent shooting.
Ahead by three at halftime, the Tigers couldn't extend their lead past single digits. The Pirates kept close and took the lead midway through the half on two free throws by Seth LeDay.
The Tigers and Pirates exchanged the lead on several occasions in the closing 10 minutes before the UofM pulled away behind Kareem Brewton and Martin. Martin made 5-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes and Brewton made two layups in the final four minutes. The two guards accounted for the last 17 points the Tigers scored.
At the half, the Tigers led, 40-37, thanks to a 3-pointer in the closing seconds by Martin.
Memphis shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) in the first half and got a solid effort from Lomax. He had seven points and four assists, entering the game in the opening minute after starter Kyvon Davenport had to leave following knocking knees with an ECU player.
UPCOMING GAMES