Memphis earned its third win over a ranked opponent in American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Saturday, December 16.
Tulane 105, Southern 81 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Kevin Cross recorded a triple double and scored 20 points shooting 9 for 10, distributed 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds and Tulane beat Southern 105-81.
It was Cross’ second-straight triple double. On Thursday he scored 25 points, passed out 12 assists and collared 12 rebounds in Tulane’s 117-110 double overtime win over Furman.
Cross also blocked four shots. Jaylen Forbes led the Green Wave (8-2) in scoring with 28 points. Kolby King added 22 points while shooting 9 for 13 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free throw line, and also had eight rebounds.
Tai'Reon Joseph led the way for the Jaguars (4-7) with 23 points. Tidjiane Dioumassi added 14 points, four assists and four steals for Southern. Delang Muon also had 10 points.
Rice 76, Northwestern State 51 - Box Score
NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP) Max Fiedler had 16 points in Rice's 76-51 victory against Northwestern State on Saturday.
Fiedler added eight rebounds and five assists for the Owls (5-6). Mekhi Mason scored 14 points.
Justin Wilson finished with 10 points and two blocks for the Demons (1-10). The loss was the Demons' 10th straight.
Tulsa 73, Missouri State 72 - Box Score
TULSA, Okla. (AP) PJ Haggerty scored 24 points and his three-point play with two seconds left lifted the Golden Hurricane past Missouri State 73-72 on Saturday night.
Haggerty was 8 of 12 shooting and 8 of 8 from the free throw line for the Golden Hurricane (6-3). Isaiah Barnes scored 13 points and Jared Garcia added 11.
Chance Moore led the Bears (7-4) with 17 points. Missouri State got 13 points and nine rebounds from Donovan Clay. Alston Mason also had 13 points with four assists.
Memphis 79, No. 13 Clemson 77 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) David Jones scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, Jahvon Quinerly added 17 points and six assists, and Memphis held on to beat No. 13 Clemson 79-77 on Saturday.
Nick Jourdain added 11 points for Memphis (8-2).
PJ Hall led Clemson (9-1) with 21 points, while Chauncey Wiggins finished with 19 and Chase Hunter had 13.
Hunter hit the first of two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to cut the Memphis lead to 79-77, but his miss of the second was grabbed by Memphis' Malcolm Dandridge, preserving the Tigers' win.
The second half was tight, with the difference rarely getting beyond one possession. Clemson, off to its best start since starting the 2008-09 season at 16-0, had the lead until a pair of free throws by Quinerly with 4:29 left.
A pair of free throws with 13.5 seconds left by Jaykwon Walton helped Memphis close it out.
The difference in the second half came down to conditioning. Memphis outscored Clemson 47-38 in the half and seemed to gain momentum after erasing a halftime deficit.
“We were tired,” Clemson coach Brad Brownwell said. “Our guys were tired. Our older guys were tired, but our big guys especially.”
That was something Memphis planned its strategy around. Long rebounds and quick outlet passes led to fast transitions, particularly in the second half. But the Tigers had seen the Clemson big men laboring late in the first half.
“We worked all week on getting the ball up and down the court as fast as we could, and it worked,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “At the end of the game, (the Clemson players) were exhausted.”
After a couple of early runs by both teams, the first half settled into a closely played affair highlighted by tight defense, resulting in misfired shots, particularly for Memphis. Clemson opened a 10-point lead in the half's latter minutes before carrying a 39-32 advantage into the break.
Memphis made its push to open the second half, taking advantage of Clemson's fatigue.
“I thought we fought to the end,” Brownwell said. “We didn't play quite as well as we needed to, certainly, or as well as I would like at times.”
For Hardaway, whose team could reach the Top 25, the win and other victories over teams like Arkansas, Virginia Commonwealth and Texas A&M shows the capabilities. And he says they haven't reached their potential.
“That was true Memphis basketball," Hardaway said.
South Florida 77, Loyola Chicago 64 - Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Selton Miguel scored 21 points as South Florida beat Loyola Chicago 77-64 on Saturday night.
Miguel shot 8 for 10 (3 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free throw line for the Bulls (5-4). Jayden Reid added 13 points while shooting 4 for 7 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line, and they also had six rebounds. Sam Hines Jr. went 5 of 8 from the field to finish with 12 points.
Philip Alston led the way for the Ramblers (6-5) with 27 points. Loyola Chicago also got seven points and four assists from Des Watson. Braden Norris also had six points, six rebounds and seven assists.
No. 15 Florida Atlantic 64, St. Bonaventure 54 - Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) No. 15 Florida Atlantic has been relying on its high-powered offense to win games this season.
On Saturday, the Owls needed a strong defense to beat a pesky St. Bonaventure team.
Johnell Davis scored 16 points and FAU held off the Bonnies 64-54 on Saturday in the Hall of Fame Classic.
Vladislav Goldin added 11 points for FAU (9-2), nine of them in the second half.
The Owls won despite being held 21 points below their season average.
“It’s good for us to be able to win a game like this,” said FAU coach Dusty May. “Because, in a league where you’re going to have to play so many games, you’re going to have to win different styles, different systems. And so this is very good for us to prove that this team can win like that.”
Moses Flowers had 12 points for St. Bonaventure (7-3), which had won five straight coming into the game. Assa Essamvous and Chad Venning each added 11 points. But Venning fouled out with just over five minutes left in the game.
The Bonnies led 41-38 before two dunks by Goldin sparked a 14-0 second-half run that gave FAU a 52-41 lead.
A 3-pointer by Flowers made it a six-point game late, but a follow-up layup by Alijah Martin pushed the lead back to eight with just 55 seconds left and the Owls held on for the win.
FAU scored 24 points off 21 St. Bonaventure turnovers.
The Bonnies had the first big run of the game, holding FAU without a field goal for more than seven minutes during an 11-0 spurt for a 20-10 lead in the first half.
But a steal and dunk by Brandon Weatherspoon broke that drought and the Owls took control of the half from there, going on a 15-3 run over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the half and scoring the final nine points before intermission.
“They stepped up their intensity and we didn't react too well," St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said. ”They didn't panic."
The Owls went into halftime leading 27-26 after a long 3-pointer by Venning was ruled to have come just after the buzzer.
“It takes time to get used to how they were playing, what they do,” Goldin said “And after we adjusted, we just take what the game gives us.”
Wichita State 69, Southern Illinois 68 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Colby Rogers and Xavier Bell scored 20 points each and Wichita State got a blocked shot at the buzzer to edge Southern Illinois 69-68 on Saturday night.
Wichita State did not score in the last 1 1/2 minutes but Quincy Ballard and Ronnie DeGray both got a piece of a blocked layup attempt by the Salukis’ Xavier Johnson as time ran out.
Johnson led the Salukis (6-4) with 23 points and nine assists. Clarence Rupert added 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Southern Illinois.
SMU 68, Florida State 57 - Box Score
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Chuck Harris scored a season-high 24 points to lead SMU to a 68-57 victory over Florida State on Saturday night.
Harris made 9 of 15 shots, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, for the Mustangs (7-4). He added six rebounds and four assists. Zhuric Phelps and reserve Tyreek Smith had 10 points apiece. Smith had 10 rebounds to notch his second double-double this season.
Harris hit two 3-pointers and scored nine points to lead SMU to a 25-18 advantage at halftime. Florida State shot 22% from the floor before intermission and made just 1 of 13 from 3-point range.
Phelps made 3-of-4 free throws and followed with a layup to give the Mustangs a 34-22 lead less than four minutes into the second half. SMU led by double digits the rest of the way.
Darin Green Jr. and reserve Primo Spears led the Seminoles (4-5) with 10 points each in the first of seven straight games at home. Green made 4 of 11 shots - 2 of 7 from distance. Spears missed 12 of 14 shots but was 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
SMU came into the game holding its opponents to 37.5% shooting from the floor under second-year coach Rob Lanier. The Mustangs held the Seminoles to 31.1% shooting (19 for 61), including 4 for 22 from beyond the arc (18.2%).
VCU 87, Temple 78 - Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Zeb Jackson and Max Shulga both scored 19 points to help VCU defeat Temple 87-78 on Saturday.
Jackson had six rebounds, seven assists, and four steals for the Rams (6-5). Shulga added six rebounds and five assists. Kuany Kuany was 4 of 7 shooting (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 12 points.
Sam Hofman led the way for the Owls (6-4) with 17 points. Hysier Miller added 16 points and nine assists for Temple. In addition, Jahlil White finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Richmond 64, Charlotte 54 - Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Jordan King had 14 points in Richmond's 64-56 victory over Charlotte on Saturday night.
King shot 5 for 12 (1 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line for the Spiders (6-5). Isaiah Bigelow scored 12 points and added nine rebounds. Dji Bailey had 12 points and was 5 of 7 shooting and 2 of 4 from the free throw line.
The 49ers (5-5) were led in scoring by Nik Graves, who finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. Robert Braswell added 10 points for Charlotte. In addition, Jackson Threadgill finished with eight points.