South Florida remained atop the American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings with a 90-86 win over No. 24 Florida Atlantic on Sunday, February 18.
Charlotte 72, Wichita State 61 - Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Lu'Cye Patterson had 19 points in Charlotte's 72-61 win over Wichita State on Sunday.
Patterson went 9 of 13 from the field for the 49ers (17-8, 11-2 American Athletic Conference). Dishon Jackson scored 14 points while shooting 5 of 12 from the field and 4 for 6 from the line, and added seven rebounds. Nik Graves had 14 points and shot 4 of 7 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line.
The Shockers (10-16, 2-11) were led in scoring by Xavier Bell, who finished with 16 points and two steals. Wichita State also got 11 points and two blocks from Quincy Ballard.
South Florida 90, No. 24 Florida Atlantic 86 - Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Selton Miguel scored a career-high 25 points, Chris Youngblood added 23 and American Athletic Conference-leading South Florida won its 11th straight game, beating No. 24 Florida Atlantic 90-86 on Sunday.
USF (19-5, 12-1 AAC), under first-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, is having just its second season with a winning record since 2011-12.
“We know that today is not solidifying anything,” Abdur-Rahim said. “We’re going to make sure we stay focused on our ultimate goal. The biggest thing we have right now is we control our destiny.”
FAU (20-6, 10-3) got 23 points from Vladislav Goldin and 20 from Johnell Davis. The Owls, who made the Final Four last season, dropped to third place in the American when they lost their second out of their last four games.
The announced crowd of 10,659 set a South Florida home attendance record.
“This is just a heck of a college basketball game,” Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said. “The environment was awesome for our game and our sport. Wish we could have came out on the other side of the win column, but proud of our effort, especially in the second half.”
After trailing by 25 midway with 8 1/2 minutes left, FAU cut its deficit to 87-86 on Jalen Gaffney's layup and Davis' 3-pointer with 23.1 seconds to go.
Youngblood made it 89-86 with a pair of free throws. After Davis missed a jumper, Youngblood secured the win by making one of two from the free-throw line with 4.6 seconds remaining.
“In the huddles, I kept on saying composure, composure and just relax because we've been in position on the other side,” Youngblood said. “So, we know what to do and how to go about everything.”
FAU got within 79-72 with 4 1/2 minutes left on a strange 5-point sequence. Nick Boyd hit a 3 while Gaffney was being foul. Gaffney made two free throws.
Youngblood made five consecutive free throws in the opening 10 seconds of the second half as USF grabbed a 51-31 advantage. The first two came before the clock started after Goldin was given a contact dead ball technical foul following the end of the first half.
Miguel had 16 points and Youngblood picked up 15 as USF took a 46-31 halftime lead.
“This ain’t the same old South Florida - it’s not,” Abdur-Rahim said.
Temple 83, UTSA 77 - Box Score
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Hysier Miller's 20 points helped Temple defeat UTSA 83-77 on Sunday to end the Owls' 10-game losing streak.
Miller shot 7 for 17 (3 for 8 from 3-point range) and 3 of 5 from the free throw line for the Owls (9-17, 2-11 American Athletic Conference). William Settle scored 16 points and added seven rebounds. Jahlil White shot 5 of 8 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line to finish with 15 points.
Jordan Ivy-Curry finished with 22 points for the Roadrunners (8-18, 2-11). UTSA also got 13 points from PJ Carter. Dre Fuller Jr. also recorded 11 points.
Joran Riley scored nine points in the first half and Temple went into the break trailing 41-34. Temple pulled off the victory after an 11-0 second-half run erased a seven-point deficit and gave them the lead at 55-51 with 10:59 remaining in the half. Miller scored 13 second-half points.
East Carolina 81, Tulane 67 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) RJ Felton had 21 points in East Carolina's 81-67 win against Tulane on Sunday.
Felton also contributed six rebounds for the Pirates (14-12, 7-6 American Athletic Conference). Brandon Johnson scored 20 points and added nine rebounds and four steals. Cam Hayes shot 5 for 7, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points.
Jaylen Forbes led the way for the Green Wave (13-12, 4-9) with 21 points and two steals. Sion James added 12 points for Tulane. Tre' Williams also recorded 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
East Carolina entered halftime up 38-33. Felton paced the team in scoring in the first half with 14 points.
UAB 71, North Texas 62 - Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Yaxel Lendeborg's 26 points helped UAB defeat North Texas 71-62 on Sunday.
Lendeborg added eight rebounds and four blocks for the Blazers (17-8, 9-3 American Athletic Conference). Javian Davis scored 10 points and added three blocks. Efrem Johnson also had 10 points.
Jason Edwards led the way for the Mean Green (14-11, 7-6) with 29 points and four assists. North Texas also got 13 points and four steals from Robert Allen.
UAB took the lead with 7:04 to go in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 34-24 at halftime, with Lendeborg racking up 16 points. UAB was outscored by North Texas in the second half by a one-point margin, but still wound up on top.
SMU 106, Memphis 79 - Box Score
DALLAS (AP) Ricardo Wright's 26 points off of the bench led SMU to a 106-79 victory over Memphis on Sunday night.
Wright was 9 of 12 shooting (6 for 8 from 3-point range) for the Mustangs (19-7, 10-3 American Athletic Conference). Samuell Williamson scored 18 points while going 8 of 13 from the field, and added eight rebounds. Zhuric Phelps shot 8 for 15, including 1 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 18 points, while adding seven assists. The Mustangs picked up their sixth straight win.
David Jones finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and two steals for the Tigers (18-8, 7-6). Nae'Qwan Tomlin added 17 points for Memphis. Jahvon Quinerly also recorded nine points and five assists.
SMU took the lead with 18:57 left in the first half and did not give it up. Wright led his team in scoring with 18 points in the first half to help put them up 58-36 at the break. SMU outscored Memphis by five points over the final half, while Phelps led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points.