No. 19 Florida Atlantic advanced to the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday, November 24.
No. 19 Florida Atlantic 96, No. 12 Texas A&M 89 - Box Score
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) Johnell Davis scored 26 points, Alijah Martin added 25 and No. 19 Florida Atlantic beat No. 12 Texas A&M 96-89 in a semifinal at the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday.
Davis and Martin combined for 11 3-pointers as the Owls (4-1) went 16 of 30 (53.3%) from behind the arc.
“I thought our guys simply played off of each other and made the right plays,” FAU coach Dusty May said.
Wade Taylor IV had 35 points for the Aggies (5-1).
Texas A&M played the second half without Henry Coleman III, who turned his ankle with three minutes left before halftime. The forward led the Aggies with 24 points in a 89-77 win over Butler on Thursday.
Tyrece Radford, who entered the game averaging 15.2 points, played just 18 minutes because of illness and had two points.
“I thought our group did incredibly well without Henry and without Boots (Radford),” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said.
After trailing by 18 points, the Aggies got within 89-84 on Taylor’s 3-point play with 1:36 to go, but they could get no closer.
Jalen Gaffney hit a pair of long-range shots to key FAU's 16-3 run to start the second half and take a 62-47 lead.
“Awful start,” Williams said. “Bad closeouts. Bad rotations.”
Coleman had a pair of layups to spur a first half-ending 16-6 run that got Texas A&M within 46-44.
Vladislav Goldin, a 7-foot-1 center who scored 19 points in Thursday's 91-86 win over Butler, didn't take his first shot until 13 minutes into the game when he converted after a rebound. It was part of a 15-0 run that included three 3s by Martin to put FAU ahead 40-28.
Goldin made a pair of key free throws in the final minute of the game and finished with 10 points.
Jacksonville State 77, UTSA 62 - Box Score
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Quincy Clark and KyKy Tandy each had 16 points in Jacksonville State's 77-62 win against UTSA on Friday.
Clark had five rebounds and seven assists for the Gamecocks (2-4,). Tandy shot 6 of 17 (2 for 7 from 3-point range). Ivan Reynolds finished 5 of 5 from the field to finish with 13 points.
The Roadrunners (2-4) were led in scoring by Christian Tucker, who finished with 19 points. Dre Fuller Jr. added 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for UTSA. PJ Carter also recorded nine points.
Villanova 79, Memphis 63 - Box Score
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) TJ Bamba scored 13 points and all of Villanova's starters scored in double figures in beating Memphis 79-63 in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Friday.
Villanova used a 12-0 run late in the first half to lead by as many as 30 and led by 35 midway through the second half. At that point, Memphis, which shot just 15% in the first half, responded with a press and 21 unanswered points on 9-of-11 shooting led by Jahvon Quinerly's nine points to get within 14 with 4 1/2 minutes to go before the monster rally ended.
Justin Moore, Tyler Burton and Eric Dixon scored 11 points each and Mark Armstrong had 10 for Villanova. The Wildcats (6-1) made 13 of 35 3-point attempts, three apiece from Bamba and Moore. Burton had a game-high nine rebounds.
David Jones scored 13 points, Quinery 12 and Caleb Mills 10 for the Tigers (5-1), who made only 7 of 25 from the arc.
UC Irvine 83, Rice 68 - Box Score
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) Justin Hohn's 18 points helped UC Irvine defeat Rice 83-68 on Friday night.
Hohn added nine rebounds for the Anteaters (6-1). Derin Saran scored 16 points, going 7 of 12 and 1 of 3 from the free throw line. Pierre Crockrell II shot 3 of 5 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line to finish with nine points. It was the sixth victory in a row for the Anteaters.
Travis Evee led the way for the Owls (1-5) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Rice also got 16 points from Mekhi Mason. In addition, Max Fiedler finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists.