East Carolina, No. 10/18 Houston and SMU all stayed undefeated after picking up wins in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday (Dec. 5). The Cougars and Mustangs moved to 4-0, while the Pirates are 3-0 for the first time since 2013-14.

East Carolina 63, Radford 50 - Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Jayden Gardner had 20 points and eight rebounds as East Carolina topped Radford 63-50 on Saturday.

Noah Farrakhan had 11 points for East Carolina (3-0).

Fah’Mir Ali and Quinton Morton-Robertson each had nine points for the Highlanders (0-4).

SMU 66, (-/rv) Dayton 64 - Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Emmanuel Bandoumel hit a short jump shot with less than a second left to lift SMU to a 66-64 win over Dayton on Saturday.

Ibi Watson drilled a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to tie the game but Bandoumel took the ball toward the low block on the left side of the lane, twisted and floated a one-hander that landed softly on the back of the rim and dropped through.

Kendric Davis scored 21 points to lead the Mustangs (4-0) and Bandoumel added 19.

Ibi Watson had 23 points and six rebounds for the Flyers (1-1). Chase Johnson added 14 points. Jalen Crutcher had 10 points and seven assists.

No. 10/18 Houston 77, South Carolina 67 - Box Score

HOUSTON (AP) — Quentin Grimes had 23 points and seven rebounds, Tramon Mark added 18 points and No. 10 Houston rallied for a 77-67 win over South Carolina on Saturday night.

Grimes scored 19 points in the second half, including 12 of 13 from the free throw line. Mark scored 11 points after the break, including 6 of 7 from the line.

DeJon Jarreau finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Houston (4-0), which shot 38% and made 4 of 19 3-point attempts. Houston was helped by 31-for-38 shooting from the free throw line.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and his son, assistant coach Kellen Sampson, missed the game because of COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols. The school said the Sampsons were isolating at their homes and not showing symptoms.

Assistant coach Quannas White served as Houston’s coach.

Justin Minaya scored 13 points and Jermaine Couisnard and Keyshawn Bryant added 10 points apiece for South Carolina (1-2), which shot 44%. The Gamecocks made 17 of 29 shots from the line.

Houston used a 14-2 run early in the second half and opened up a 48-42 lead on a jumper by Mark with 14 minutes remaining.

After South Carolina closed within 50-49 on a free throw by Wildens Leveque, Houston used a 12-3 spurt and opened a 10-point lead on three free throws by Grimes with eight minutes left.

South Carolina led 35-31 at halftime behind eight points each from TJ Moss and Minaya.