No. 13 Memphis broke the single-game scoring record for points in a conference game in American Athletic Conference action on Sunday, January 14.
No. 24 Florida Atlantic 86, UAB 73 - Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Johnell Davis scored 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Vladislav Goldin added 18 and No. 24 Florida Atlantic used a big first half to fuel an 86-73 win over UAB on Sunday.
Jalen Gaffney added 10 for the Owls (13-4, 3-1 American). It was the third 30-point effort of Davis’ career, and two of those have come against UAB.
Eric Gaines and Efrem Johnson each scored 13 for UAB (10-6, 2-1), which saw its six-game winning streak snapped. The Blazers trailed by 22 with 17:47 left and got within eight on a layup by Alejandro Vasquez with 4:44 remaining.
But the Owls scored the game’s next 10 points to put the win away. Davis left with 1:20 remaining after appearing to turn his left ankle, but he made it to the bench under his own power and didn't seem to be seriously hurt.
Goldin came into the day as the Division I leader in field-goal percentage and improved his numbers. He made eight of 10 shots and is now 97 for 135 this season – 72%.
UAB started the game shooting 5 for 12 over the game’s first 7 minutes, which wasn’t great. The Blazers then went 5 for 22 over the next 16 minutes, which was considerably worse.
Aided by that cold spell, FAU used a 15-2 run late in the half to build a 37-18 lead. It was 43-24 at halftime, a rare intermission where the Owls had some breathing room; FAU hadn’t led by so much at the break since holding a 23-point edge over FIU on Dec. 13, and the Owls had been outscored by 29 in their most recent six first halves entering Sunday.
No. 13 Memphis 112, Wichita State 86 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Jaykwon Walton and Jahvon Quinerly scored 23 points apiece to lead No. 13 Memphis past Wichita State 112-86 on Sunday for its tenth consecutive win.
Walton, who played for Wichita State last season, and Quinerly were two of six players to finish in double-digit scoring for Memphis (15-2, 4-0 American Athletic Conference).
The Tigers recorded their most points this season, set a program record with 19 three-pointers and shot a season-high 65% from the floor. It was the first time since 1986 they have scored more than 100 points in back-to-back games.
“My biggest takeaway was the 19 3s we made as a team,” Quinerly said. “We shot the ball really well. … To be able to come out here on the road and shoot 19 3s was huge.”
Colby Rogers had 20 points to lead Wichita State (8-8, 0-3), which suffered its first loss of the season when scoring more than 80 points.
The Tigers held a 49-46 lead at halftime, with both teams shooting 60% from the floor. Wichita State tied the game early after the break, but Memphis erupted for 63 second-half points.
"We couldn’t get caught up in a shootout, and we did,” Wichita State coach Paul Mills said. “We are not the kind of team that can win those games.”
The American's leading scorer, Memphis' David Jones, was held to just two points in the first half, but the Shockers struggled to contain him in the second half. Jones finished with 19 points.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored 14, Nick Jourdain added 12 and Malcolm Dandridge had 10 for the Tigers, whose last loss came on Dec. 2. They are off to their best start since the 2007-08 season, when they began 17-0.
“All can say is wow, I was just as shocked as everybody else,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “We finally made some 3s and when they came, they came in bunches and that pushed the game away."
Harlond Beverly scored 17 points and Dalen Ridgnal added 15 for Wichita State.
Tulane 94, Tulsa 87 (OT) - Box Score
TULSA, Okla. (AP) Kevin Cross scored 28 points, including eight in the overtime, and Tulane knocked off Tulsa 94-87.
Cross also had nine rebounds and three steals for the Green Wave (11-5, 2-2 American Athletic Conference). Jaylen Forbes scored 20 points and added five rebounds. Tre' Williams had 12 points and was 4-of-7 shooting, including 1 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 3 from the foul line.
The Golden Hurricane (9-7, 0-4) were led in scoring by PJ Haggerty, who finished with 25 points, five assists and two steals. Cobe Williams added 17 points, four assists and three steals for Tulsa. In addition, Matt Reed had 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Cross scored 11 points in the first half for Tulane, who trailed 44-37 at the break. Forbes scored 10 second-half points and Cross hit the game-tying layup with nine seconds remaining in the second half to send the game to overtime. Cross was 1 of 1 shooting and 6 of 6 from the free throw line on the way to his eight points in the overtime.