PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Week 15 of the American Athletic Conference schedule came to a close on Sunday afternoon with No. 9/9 Houston, Cincinnati and Tulsa getting wins. The Cougars took care of Tulane on the road while the Bearcats defeated Wichita State. Both teams now have double-digit conference wins. Tulsa and ECU battled in a thriller in Greenville, N.C., but the Golden Hurricane were able to prevail in overtime.
Sunday, February 17
Cincinnati 72, Wichita State 62
Cincinnati posted a 72-62 victory over Wichita State before a sellout crowd of 12,223 at Fifth Third Arena behind Jarron Cumberland's 27 points.
UC (21-4, 10-2) has won 24 consecutive conference home games at Fifth Third Arena and is 47-4 in AAC home games since the league was formed in 2013-14. Wichita State (12-12, 5-7) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end and was swept by a conference opponent for the first time since 2012-13 when the Shockers were swept by Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Cincinnati defense held WSU to a 26.8 field goal percentage, lower than the 32-percent that Arkansas-Pine Bluff managed back on Nov. 27 in the previous season low for UC opponent.
Even up against a tough shooting day, the Shockers trimmed a 19-point deficit with 6:31 left to seven with 48 seconds remaining before UC's Keith Williams converted four straight free throws to put the game away.
Cumberland matched his career high with six three-pointers. He also had six rebounds and five assists. Williams scored 15 for UC and Cane Broome added 12.
Dexter Dennis led WSU with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Markis McDuffie, the second-leading scorer in the American behind Cumberland with an 18.9-point average, was held to 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
The Bearcats led by 10 at halftime after wiping out a brief four-point deficit and quickly increased that to 14 in the opening minutes of the second half. The Shockers came back to get within six only to see UC go on a 16-3 run that gave the Bearcats the 19-point lead that ultimately was too much to overcome.
The Bearcats, whose loss to Houston a week earlier ended their eight-game losing streak, avoided a two-game losing streak and stayed one loss behind the first-place Cougars in the American standings.
No. 9/9 Houston 85, Tulane 50
Corey Davis Jr. tied an American Athletic Conference men's basketball season high with eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help No. 9/9 Houston beat Tulane 85-50 on Sunday for its 10th consecutive victory. It is the second double-digit win streak for the Cougars this season after starting the year with 15-straight victories.
Davis and Armoni Brooks led the way as Houston went 17-for-34 from beyond the arc, becoming just the fourth American team to hit 17 triples in a game. The mark is behind only last year's Houston team with made 18 twice in games against Tulsa (1/11/18) and ECU (2/25/18). Brooks made six 3s on his way to 24 points.
The Cougars (25-1, 12-1) opened the game with a 22-5 run. The Green Wave twice got within eight points early in the second half, but Davis made three 3-pointers during a 17-0 run that put the Cougars in command with a 58-33 lead.
Tulane (4-20, 0-12) dropped its 14th consecutive game in the program's longest losing streak in 55 years. They have six more chances to avoid the first winless conference season in school history.
Caleb Daniels scored 13 points for the Green Wave, and Samir Sehic had 12.
Houston's Brison Gresham grabbed nine rebounds to help the Cougars to a 43-25 advantage on the glass.
The Green Wave shot 32.1 percent 18-for-56 from the field.
Tulsa 77, ECU 73 (OT)
Sterling Taplin's 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in overtime sealed a 77-73 overtime Tulsa victory at ECU, the Golden Hurricane's third-straight win, on Sunday afternoon at Minges Coliseum.
Taplin battled foul trouble for much of the contest but finished with 11 points and was one of six players to score in double-figures for Tulsa (16-10, 6-7). Martins Igbanu led the way with 16 points, while Jeriah Horne netted 12 points. DaQuan Jeffries and Elijah Joiner joined Taplin with 11 and Darien Jackson finished with 10.
Tulsa shot 47.4-percent for the game and hit four of its six shots in the extra session. TU got 33 points from its bench and scored 34 points in the paint.
With the win, Tulsa improved to 19-3 overall against ECU and the Hurricane has now won 10 of the last 11 in the series.
Meanwhile, Shawn Williams hit eight 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points for the Pirates (9-16, 2-11), who also got a 19-point, 16-rebound effort from freshman Jayden Gardner.
In the overtime, Joiner put TU on top 72-71 with a triple and a jumper in the lane. Two free throws from Williams reclaimed the lead for ECU with 1:11 left. However, Igbanu scored inside with 58 seconds left and after a defensive stop, Taplin drilled a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and the shot clock winding down for the 77-73 advantage.
ECU missed a triple in the closing seconds and TU closed out the four-point win.
The Tulsa defense started strong in the first half as it held the Pirates to 1-of-10 shooting and five turnovers in the first eight minutes. The defense fueled the offense as the Hurricane raced out to a 17-3 lead.
With 5:45 left in the half, the advantage was 31-14 after an 11-3 run. Williams started to get hot behind the arc and his four 3-pointers over the final seven minutes helped the Pirates close the gap to 37-26 at intermission.
ECU outscored Tulsa 21-7 through the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half to take a 47-44 lead. The Pirates led by as much as 56-50 with nine minutes left in regulation, but Jackson helped spur a TU rally to reclaim a 59-58 edge with five minutes on the clock.
In the final minute of regulation, Curran Scott's free throw with 37 ticks left tied the score at 67 and a potential game-winning jumper by Jeffries rimmed out at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
UPCOMING GAMES
| TUESDAY 2.19.19 |
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Florida College |
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USF |
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4 p.m. |
Tampa, Fla. |
Live Stats |
| WEDNESDAY 2.20.19 |
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Tulane |
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Memphis |
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7 p.m. |
Memphis, Tenn. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPNU |
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Wichita State |
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Tulsa |
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9 p.m. |
Tulsa, Okla. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPNU |
| THURSDAY 2.21.19 |
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UCF |
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Cincinnati |
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7 p.m. |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPN2 |
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UConn |
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SMU |
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9 p.m. |
Dallas, Texas |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPN2 |
| SATURDAY 2.23.19 |
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Tulsa |
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Temple |
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Noon |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPNEWS |
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USF |
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Houston |
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6 p.m. |
Houston, Texas |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPN2 |
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ECU |
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Tulane |
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8 p.m. |
New Orleans, La. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPNU |
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Memphis |
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Wichita State |
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8 p.m. |
Wichita, Kan. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPN2 |
| SUNDAY 2.24.19 |
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SMU |
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UCF |
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Noon |
Orlando, Fla. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:CBSSN |
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Cincinnati |
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UConn |
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2 p.m. |
Hartford, Conn. |
Live Stats Live Video
TV:ESPN |