American Athletic Conference men's basketball teams went 3-0 on Thursday, December 22.

Thursday, December 22
SMU 85, Iona 81 - Box Score
South Florida 92, NJIT 73 - Box Score
Wichita State 65, Texas Southern 56 - Box Score

SMU 85, Iona 81 - Box Score
HONOLULU (AP) — Zach Nutall scored 24 points as SMU beat Iona 85-81 on Thursday in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.

Nutall shot 11 for 16, including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc for the Mustangs (4-7). Zhruic Phelps shot 8 for 17, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc to add 20 points. Keon Ambrose-Hylton shot 7 of 8 from the field to finish with 16 points.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gaels (7-4) in scoring, finishing with 22 points and two steals. Nelly Junior Joseph added 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks for Iona. In addition, Daniss Jenkins had 18 points.

Phelps scored 15 points in the second half to help lead SMU to a four-point victory.

South Florida 92, NJIT 73 - Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Selton Miguel scored 23 points off of the bench to lead South Florida over NJIT 92-73 on Thursday night.

Miguel was 10 of 14 shooting (3 for 6 from distance) for the Bulls (7-6). Tyler Harris added 22 points while going 7 of 12 (6 for 9 from distance), and he also had six assists. Russel Tchewa recorded 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Highlanders (2-10) were led in scoring by Adam Hess, who finished with 23 points. NJIT also got 21 points from Miles Coleman. Kevin Osawe also recorded nine points and seven rebounds.

South Florida led NJIT 49-40 at the half, with Miguel (14 points) the high scorer before the break. South Florida outscored NJIT by 10 points over the final half, while Harris led the way with a team-high 11 second-half points.

The Bulls are on their first 5-game win streak since 2019 and have won seven of eight. USF is averaging 75.6 points over its last seven wins.

Wichita State 65, Texas Southern 56 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 18 points off of the bench to lead Wichita State past Texas Southern 65-56 on Thursday night.

Pierre was 8-of-13 shooting (1 for 4 from distance) for the Shockers (7-5). James Rojas scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Jaykwon Walton shot 3 for 10 (0 for 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with 10 points.

Davon Barnes finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Tigers (3-9). Joirdon Karl Nicholas added 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for Texas Southern. In addition, PJ Henry had nine points.

Wichita State led Texas Southern at the half, 32-22, with Kenny Pohto (seven points) their high scorer before the break. Wichita State was outscored by Texas Southern in the second half by one point, with Pierre scoring a team-high 13 points after halftime.