No. 5 Houston took down No. 2 Virginia on the road in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday, December 17.

No. 5 Houston 69, No. 2 Virginia 61 - Box Score
East Carolina 64, South Carolina 56 - Box Score
Cincinnati 78, La Salle 60 - Box Score
Memphis 83, Texas A&M 71 - Box Score
Missouri 68, UCF 66 - Box Score
George Mason 62, Tulane 56 - Box Score
Ole Miss 63, Temple 55 - Box Score
Oklahoma State 59, Wichita State 49 - Box Score

No. 5 Houston 69, No. 2 Virginia 61 - Box Score
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Blowing a 15-point lead in the second half against No. 4 Alabama a week ago got the attention of No. 5 Houston’s players. Coach Kelvin Sampson made sure of it.

It may have helped the Cougars stymie a comeback by No. 2 Virginia on Saturday.

Jarace Walker scored 17 points and Houston used runs in each half and the nation’s best scoring defense to beat the Cavaliers 69-61. The Cougars scored on three straight possessions after a steal and layup by Kihei Clark brought a sellout crowd clad in orange to its feet, exhorting Virginia to rely on its own defense to finish the comeback.

“I’m not sure we’re able to do that without the Alabama experience,” Sampson said.

After Clark pulled the Cavaliers within 54-48, Jamal Shead scored on a drive, Tramon Mark hit a 3-pointer and Walker made a tough fadeaway, keeping the Cavaliers at bay.

“Just keeping our composure when you get a big lead and just be mature and try not to go away from what we’ve been doing, which we did against Alabama,” J’Wan Roberts said. “We watch film and we learn. We grew from that.”

Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark each added 13 points for the Cougars (11-1), who used a 10-2 run early in the second half to open a 40-30 lead. Virginia (8-1), playing for the first time in 11 days, never got closer than six again, and each time the Cougars answered.

The Cavaliers shot 41.7% (20-48). Coach Tony Bennett said when shots aren’t falling, that makes the quality of play on the defensive end all the more important.

“Today they obviously took advantage of our breakdowns and scored,” Bennett said. “Today the tougher, sounder team on the defensive end won the game.”

Kadin Shedrick scored 16 points and Jayden Gardner had 13 for the Cavaliers, who were hoping to avenge a 67-47 loss last year on the Cougars’ home floor. Houston became the highest-ranked nonconference opponent ever to play Virginia in Charlottesville.

Clark’s steal and layup pulled Virginia within 56-50 with 2:55 to play, but Tramon Mark answered with a 3-pointer for the Cougars, who shot 49% (25-51) against a defense ranked 12th nationally, allowing 57.9 points.

The Cavaliers closed to within 30-28 on Gardner’s basket to open the second half, but the Cougars went on their run, with Walker contributing a three-point play and 3-pointer in the spurt, to lead 40-30.

Virginia scored the first nine points and led 15-7 before going cold. The Cougars outscored them 17-4 over more than 10 minutes to lead 26-19. Houston led 30-26 at halftime.

East Carolina 64, South Carolina 56 - Box Score
GREENEVILLE, S.C. (AP) — RJ Felton scored 21 points shooting 8 for 13 and East Carolina beat South Carolina 64-56 in the inaugural Greeneville Winter Invitational on Saturday.

East Carolina (8-4) has won three of its last four following a two-game losing streak. South Carolina (5-6) has dropped back-to-back games and has fallen below .500 for the third time this season.

The Pirates built a 12-0 lead and never trailed. Felton made 3-pointers 20 seconds apart for a 23-10 lead nine minutes before halftime. East Carolina had seven 3-pointers en route to a 37-18 halftime advantage.

Ezra Ausar threw down a dunk to give East Carolina a 42-22 lead before the Gamecocks closed to within 12 on an 8-0 run. Meechie Johnson’s layup with 4:01 left brought South Carolina within 53-46 but it couldn’t get closer.

Javon Small scored 12 points for East Carolina which finished shooting 22 for 44.

Hayden Brown scored 15 points for South Carolina and Gregory Jackson II and Johnson each scored 13.

The two teams have now split the 12 games played in the series. The last meeting between the two occurred on Dec. 20, 2004, when the Gamecocks earned a 57-53 win. Prior to Saturday, the Pirates last defeated the Gamecocks on Dec. 19, 1998, a 56-34 victory.

East Carolina is now 7-21 all-time against teams from the SEC. Entering Saturday, the last time ECU defeated an SEC opponent was during the 2002-03 season, a 65-58 win over Ole Miss.

Cincinnati 78, La Salle 60 - Box Score
CINCINNATI (AP) — Viktor Lakhin had 17 points in Cincinnati’s 78-60 win against La Salle on Saturday.

Lakhin was 7 of 8 shooting and 3 of 7 from the free throw line for the Bearcats (8-4). David Dejulius scored 17 points while going 6 of 12 from the floor, including 1 for 3 from distance, and 4 for 7 from the line, and added three steals. Jeremiah Davenport was 3 of 7 shooting, including 1 for 4 from distance, and went 4 for 4 from the line to finish with 11 points. Mike Adams-Woods also had 11.

The Explorers (5-6) were led in scoring by Josh Nickelberry, who finished with 15 points. La Salle also got 12 points and seven assists from Khalil Brantley. Anwar Gill also had nine points.

Cincinnati led La Salle 40-23 at the half, with Davenport (11 points) their high scorer before the break. Cincinnati outscored La Salle by one point over the final half, while Lakhin led the way with a team-high nine second-half points.

Memphis 83, Texas A&M 71 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Kendric Davis had 23 points — including a career-high 14 made free throws — and nine assists, DeAndre Williams scored all his 15 points in the second half and Memphis beat Texas A&M 83-79 Saturday night.

Davis shot just 4 of 13 from the field but missed just 2 of 16 from the free-throw line and added three steals. Johnathan Lawson made 3 of 3 from behind the arc and finished with 10 points for Memphis (9-3).

The Tigers rebounded from a 91-88 loss at No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday to win for the seventh time in eight games.

Julius Marble scored inside to cap an 8-1 spurt that gave Texas A&M a one-point lead — its first since midway through the first half — with 3:20 to play but the Aggies committed turnovers on their next two possessions and Williams scored six consecutive points to give Memphis a 74-69 lead with 2 minutes remaining.

Davis made 7-of-8 free throws thereon to seal it for the Tigers.

Wade Taylor IV hit four 3-pointers and tied his career high with 25 points for Texas A&M (6-4). Marble added 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting, Manny Obaseki scored 14, and Henry Coleman III 12.

The Aggies made just 9 of 27 (33%) from the field in the first half but shot 81% from the free-throw line, where the outscored Memphis 13-7 before the break.

Missouri 68, UCF 66 - Box Score
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — DeAndre Gholston hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift Missouri to a 68-66 victory over Central Florida on Saturday at the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic doubleheader.

With 9 seconds remaining, D’Moi Hodge grabbed a defensive rebound for Missouri and brought the ball upcourt. As he approached shooting range, he slipped and fell but was able to pass the ball to Gholston who picked it up and it a straight-on bank shot from about 30 feet away.

All of the final seven field goals of the game were 3-pointers. The barrage began when UCF’s Ithiel Horton hit two 3s and Taylor Hendricks connected for a third to tie the game at 60 with 4:32 remaining.

The Tigers regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Hodge and Ronnie DeGray made two free throws for a 65-60 lead with 2:29 to go. Horton hit a 3-pointer at 2:05 and Taylor Hendricks hit another 3 to put the Knights up 66-65 with 54 seconds remaining. With 9 seconds left and time running out on the shot clock, UCF’s Jayhlon Young missed a 3-pointer, setting the stage for Gholston’s winner.

Both teams made 13 3-pointers, Missouri going 13-for-25 and UCF making 13-of-28.

UCF led 36-35 at halftime, then a 3-pointer by Gholston started a 16-1 Missouri run and the Tigers led 51-37 near the 12-minute mark of the second half. Central Florida got within nine points then closed out the remainder of the deficit when Horton and Hendricks hit the back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to tie it.

Nick Honor scored 17 points for Missouri. Gholston scored 16 off the bench and Hodge finished with 15 points. Honor made 5-of-8 3-pointers and Hodge made 3-of-5.

Horton led UCF (8-3) with 19 points, C.J. Kelly had 16 points and Johnson finished with 12. Horton was 6-for-13 from 3-point distance and Kelly made 3 of his 6 3-point tries.

George Mason 62, Tulane 56 - Box Score
CHICAGO (AP) — Victor Bailey Jr. scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and George Mason beat Tulane 62-56 on Saturday night in a Legends of Basketball Showcase contest.

Bailey was 7 of 12 shooting (5 for 9 from distance) for the Patriots (7-4). Josh Oduro scored 12 points and added six rebounds.

Jaylen Forbes led the way for the Green Wave (6-4) with 12 points, two steals and two blocks. Jalen Cook added 11 points and six assists for Tulane. In addition, Sion James finished with 11 points and two steals.

Ole Miss 63, Temple 55 - Box Score
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Matthew Murrell scored 21 points and Daeshun Ruffin had 17 with the two combining for 28 in the second half when Mississippi rallied to beat Temple 63-55 on Saturday.

After shooting just 27% and giving up 16 points off turnovers in the first half the Rebels (8-3) rebounded to shoot 48% in the second half and overtake the Owls.

Damian Dunn scored 16 points and Khalif Battle 15 for Temple (6-6), which shot 24% in the second half.

Ole Miss led 51-44 with five minutes to after play after two baskets each from Ruffin and Murrell and Murrell’s first 3-pointer after seven misses. Ruffin assisted on a Myles Burns dunk to make it an eight-point edge with 3:43 left.

Despite the lead, the Bulldogs gave up fouls that sent Temple to the line four times where the Owls converted seven free throws and left them trailing by three with 1:14 remaining.

The Rebels’ Jayveous McKinnis swatted a Temple shot into the face of teammate Jaemyn Brakefield that knocked Brakefield to the floor but McKinnis recovered the ball and made a free throw with 45 seconds remaining. Burns took a long inbounds pass and broke away for a layup and Murrell added four free throws from there to ice the win.

A Ruffin layup followed by his feed to Murrell for a transition dunk tied the game at 35-all with just under 14 minutes remaining and seconds later a three-point play by TJ Caldwell gave the Rebels their first lead since the opening minutes.

Zach Hicks hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 9-2 run to give Temple a five-point lead early and the Owls led by as many eight before going into halftime ahead 27-24.

Ruffin came in averaging a little over six points per game but was 5 of 10 from the field on this night with two 3-pointers while going 5 of 6 at the line. Burns grabbed 12 rebounds.

Temple was without 6-foot-11 Jamille Reynolds, who had started all 11 previous games and had been averaging 11.1 points, third on the team, and was the Owls’ leading rebounder. He had right thumb surgery Wednesday and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.

Oklahoma State 59, Wichita State 49 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Bryce Thompson made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 19 points, and Oklahoma State beat Wichita State 59-49 on Saturday night.

Thompson made a 3-pointer and Tyreek Smith made consecutive jumpers to give the Cowboys their largest lead, 50-36, midway through the second half. Thompson’s 3 made it 53-42 with 6:30 to play before Melvion Flanagan hit a pull-up jumper and two free throws, and Jaykwon Walton added two more from the free-throw line to pull the Shockers within 53-48 with 1:37 left. The Cowboys iced it from there, shooting 6 of 6 from the line.

Thompson was 7 of 17 from the field and had five assists. John-Michael Wright added 16 points with four 3-pointers for Oklahoma State (7-4).

Craig Porter Jr. scored 14 points for Wichita State (6-5), which shot 36.5% overall (19 of 52) and missed 20 of its 21 shots from long range.

The Cowboys scored the game’s first 10 points and led 32-19 before the Shockers scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to 32-26 at the break.