Charlotte and Florida Atlantic earned wins to stay tied for second place in the American Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Thursday, February 15.
Charlotte 79, UTSA 70 - Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Dishon Jackson's 19 points helped Charlotte defeat UTSA 79-70 on Thursday night.
Jackson was 5 of 9 shooting and 9 of 11 from the free throw line for the 49ers (16-8, 10-2 American Athletic Conference). Lu'Cye Patterson added 17 points and six rebounds. Nik Graves scored 12.
The Roadrunners (8-17, 2-10) were led by PJ Carter with 22 points. Christian Tucker added 13 points and three steals. Dre Fuller Jr. scored 10.
East Carolina 68, Wichita State 55 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) Brandon Johnson and RJ Felton scored 21 points each to help East Carolina defeat Wichita State 68-55 on Thursday night.
Johnson also had 10 rebounds and four steals for the Pirates (13-12, 6-6 American Athletic Conference). Felton added seven rebounds. Bobby Pettiford went 4 of 6 from the field to finish with eight points.
Colby Rogers led the Shockers (10-15, 2-10) in scoring, finishing with 16 points and two steals. Wichita State also got 12 points from Harlond Beverly. In addition, Dalen Ridgnal finished with nine points and two steals.
East Carolina took the lead with 8:30 left in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 38-27 at halftime.
No. 24 Florida Atlantic 80, Temple 68 - Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Johnell Davis scored 17 points, Alijah Martin and Brandon Weatherspoon each had 16 and No. 24 Florida Atlantic beat Temple 80-68 on Thursday night in a battle of the Owls.
FAU (20-5, 10-2 American Athletic) pulled away with an early 15-2 run. Weatherspoon hit two 3-pointers during the spree, and Nick Boyd had four 3-pointers in the half. Boyd and Vladislav Goldin each finished with 12 points.
“Weatherspoon is an emotional leader,” Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said. “It was awesome to see him getting his production back up and I thought his three steals were the separators.”
On Sunday, FAU will be at first-place South Florida in a conference showdown.
Temple (8-17, 1-11) has lost 10 straight, last winning against Wichita State at home Jan. 7. Jordan Riley led Temple with 19 points.
Temple had a 7-0 run midway through the second half to pull with two points. Weatherspoon countered with five straight points for FAU.
FAU forward Giancarlo Rosado returned from a knee injury sustained Jan. 14 against UAB. He had two points, three rebounds and a block in eight minutes.
“It was amazing (having him back),” Martin said. “His nickname is quarterback. He is throwing that thing around, getting that chase action and stuff like that. He opens up our offense and we missed that.”
Florida Atlantic extended its home sellout streak to 17, going 16-1 during the run.
“Shoutout to our student section,” May said. “I thought the energy was off the charts again. The students are here early and add a lot of positive energy to the group.”
SMU 87, Tulane 79 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Chuck Harris scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to help SMU defeat Tulane 87-79 on Thursday night.
Harris also added six assists for the Mustangs (18-7, 9-3 American Athletic Conference). Zhuric Phelps scored 19 points while shooting 7 for 14 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line. Tyreek Smith shot 5 of 9 from the field to finish with 11 points, while adding seven rebounds and four blocks.
The Green Wave (13-11, 4-8) were led in scoring by Kevin Cross, who finished with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Jaylen Forbes added 18 points and six rebounds for Tulane. In addition, Sion James had 14 points, six rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
Harris scored nine points in the first half and SMU went into the break trailing 41-37.
North Texas 76, Memphis 66 - Box Score
DENTON, Texas (AP) Jason Edwards scored 30 points as North Texas beat Memphis 76-66 on Thursday night.
Edwards was 8 of 16 shooting, including 7 for 9 from 3-point range, and went 7 for 8 from the line for the Mean Green (14-10, 7-5 American Athletic Conference). John Buggs III scored 12 points while shooting 4 for 5 from beyond the arc. Rondel Walker was 4 of 9 shooting (2 for 5 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points, while adding nine rebounds and five assists.
The Tigers (18-7, 7-5) were led in scoring by David Jones, who finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and two steals. Jaykwon Walton added 10 points for Memphis. Nick Jourdain had nine points and two steals.
Edwards had 15 points by halftime for a 33-30 lead.