In the penultimate day of the American Athletic Conference men's basketball regular season, both Cincinnati and USF picked up wins in the final seconds.
USF 61, SMU 60 -
Box Score
Laquincy Rideau scored 12 points and his 3-pointer with under a second left was the game winner as USF stunned SMU 61-60 on Saturday.
Isiaha Mike made 1 of 2 foul shots with 42 seconds left and SMU led 60-53. From there, South Florida (14-17, 7-11 American Athletic Conference) scored eight points in 24 seconds.
David Collins made two foul shots for the Bulls. Then, off an SMU turnover, Ezacuras Dawson III missed a 3, for which the Mustangs grabbed the rebound and called timeout.
But Mike turned it over on the inbound, Justin Brown converted a three-point play on a layup when Mike fouled him with 13 seconds left and the Bulls were within 60-58.
After being intentionally fouled, SMU's Tyson Jolley went to the foul line and missed both. However, Mike grabbed the offensive rebound, but he missed a lay-in attempt which set up Rideau's game winner. SMU turned it over on its final possession to end the game.
Collins led South Florida with 15 points. Ethan Chargois scored 20 for the Mustangs.
Cincinnati 64, Temple 63 -
Box Score
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Trevon Scott salvaged an admittedly “bad” night with a play that might have saved Cincinnati's NCAA Tournament hopes.
The senior's tip-in with 2.8 seconds left lifted the Bearcats to a 64-63 win over upset-minded Temple in the regular-season finale on Saturday night.
“I had a bad game for the whole game, but it doesn't matter,” said Scott, whose five points were 6.6 below his season average on an unproductive Senior Night. “For me to go out like that for the city, for the team, for myself. ... After the game, my teammates were like, ‘Throw everything out the window. Look at what you just did.’ ”
Jaevon Cumberland missed a jump shot, but Scott was there for the wide-open game-winner, drawing roars from the season-high sellout crowd of 12,365.
“We needed every last one of them,” Cincinnati coach John Brannen. “I want to thank the fans for putting us over the top. It was a great night - emotion-filled for a lot of reasons.”
Cumberland finished with 20 points for Cincinnati (20-10, 13-5 American Athletic Conference), which already had clinched a first-round bye in next week’s AAC tournament. The Bearcats still can grab a share of the AAC regular-season championship with first-place Tulsa and maybe No. 21 Houston. The Bearcats went into the game tied for second with Houston, which plays Memphis at home on Sunday. Tulsa plays at Wichita State.
A loss to the Owls, beaten at home by Cincinnati by seven points on Jan. 22, probably would have left the Bearcats needing a third straight AAC Tournament championship to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats feel like they've been playing tournament basketball for a month, Brannen said.
“It's exhausting, no question about it,” the first-year coach said,
Quinton Rose scored 19 points to lead Temple (14-17, 6-12). The Owls have lost their last five games and six of their last seven. De’Vondre Perry added 10 for the Owls.
Mamoudou Diarra scored eight of his career-high 12 points in the second half and Keith Williams scored all 11 of his points after halftime to lead Cincinnati’s comeback from a 14-point intermission deficit.
Cincinnati didn't take its first lead until Williams scored on a layup ro a 55-54 edge with 3:26 left in the game. That was the first of seven lead changes and one tie down the stretch. Cumberland scored on a spinning layup for a 62-60 lead with 1:04 left, but J.P. Moorman II connected on a 3-pointer for a 63-62 lead with 11 seconds left, setting up Scott's game-winning outback.
Cincinnati shot just 24% from the field (6 for 25), including 1 for 10 on 3-pointers, while Temple was going 5 for 9 on 3-pointers on the way to a 31-17 halftime lead. Alani Moore II made three of the Owls’ 3-pointers for all nine of his first half points. Temple took command with a 14-4 run to close the first half.