Florida Atlantic clinched the No 2 seed for the 2024 American Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 9.
Saturday, March 9
Florida Atlantic 92, Memphis 84 - Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) Vladislav Goldin scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Bryan Greenlee made five 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 21 points and Florida Atlantic beat Memphis 92-84 on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both clubs.
Alijah Martin scored 16 and Johnell Davis added 14 for the Owls (24-7, 14-4 American Athletic), a Final Four team last season that will be the No. 2 seed for the AAC Tournament that starts Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Owls will open tournament play with a quarterfinal game on Friday.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored 27 points for Memphis (22-9, 11-7), which saw its four-game winning streak snapped. David Jones and Jahvon Quinerly each scored 16 and Jaykwon Walton added 10 for the Tigers, who likely are on the NCAA tournament bubble entering the AAC tournament.
Memphis led by as many as six in the opening 10 minutes, but the Owls used an 11-2 run - with Goldin scoring six straight FAU points in that spurt - to take the lead for good later in the first half.
Greenlee hit a pair of jumpers in the final 45 seconds of the half for a six-point lead at the break, and Martin had an alley-oop dunk with 13:19 left for a 55-45 lead - the first double-digit edge by either side. The lead reached as many as 14 with 6:01 left, before Memphis tried to rally.
FAU sold out every game at home this season, going 13-1 and 9-0 in conference games there. The Owls are now 31-1 in their last 32 home games.
Tulsa 76, South Florida 70 - Box Score
TULSA, Okla. (AP) Freshman PJ Haggerty scored a career-high 32 points, including 26 in the second half, as Tulsa defeated No. 24 South Florida 76-70 on Saturday, snapping the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games.
Tulsa (16-14, 7-11 American Athletic Conference) held USF to 30% shooting in the second half, coming back from a 37-31 halftime deficit.
Haggerty, the conference’s 13-time freshman of the week and nation’s leading freshman scorer at 20.6 points per game, scored 10 points of a 16-5 Tulsa run, prompting South Florida to take a timeout with 8:10 to play. Cobe Williams, who added 23 for Tulsa, hit a 3-pointer out of the break. Haggerty continued to pour it on from there, scoring Tulsa’s next 10 points to give Tulsa a 69-58 lead with 2:33 remaining.
South Florida (23-6, 16-2) pulled within 70-67 on a tip-in by Kasean Pryor with 1:20 left but Tulsa made 6 of 9 free throws from there.
“We had opportunities to stretch the lead, but in the second half Haggerty and Cobe Williams were the most competitive players on the floor,” said South Florida coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. “We didn’t match their competitiveness and that was disappointing.
“Haggerty is just a really crafty player. He’s 6-4, strong and he never gets in a hurry. With his strength and patience he just really made it tough on us.”
Tulsa coach Eric Konkol marveled at Haggerty’s shot making and said it’s a skill he’s possessed since his earliest days of competitive basketball. Haggerty made 11 of 17 shots from the floor, 10 of 14 free throws and had seven rebounds and five assists. Williams had 11 rebounds and made 3 of 8 3-pointers and 8 of 9 free throws.
“You talk to the guys who watched him grow up and they all say he’s always been able to score,” Konkol said of Haggerty. “He’s got such balance and is constantly changing directions. He can slow down and get what he’s looking for.”
“I just try to take what I see out there,” Haggerty said. “That’s really all it is.”
Pryor led South Florida with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Youngblood had 12 points and Selton Miguel 11 for the Bulls.
Pryor, a 6-10 junior, had 15 in the first half on 5 of 6 shooting including going 2of 3 3-pointers, exceeding his 12.1 scoring average by halftime.
South Florida made just 4 of 23 3-pointers.
Charlotte 82, East Carolina 72 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) Lu'Cye Patterson scored 27 points as Charlotte beat East Carolina 82-72 on Saturday night.
Patterson also had four steals for the 49ers (19-11, 13-5 American Athletic Conference). Nik Graves shot 6 of 10 from the field, including 3 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the line to add 20 points. Igor Milicic Jr. had 13 points and shot 5 for 7, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc.
RJ Felton finished with 28 points for the Pirates (14-17, 7-11). Brandon Johnson added 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for East Carolina. Cam Hayes had 13 points and four assists.
North Texas 71, Rice 55 - Box Score
HOUSTON (AP) Jason Edwards' 21 points helped North Texas defeat Rice 71-55 on Saturday night.
Edwards also contributed five rebounds for the Mean Green (17-13, 10-8 American Athletic Conference). Rubin Jones scored 14 points and added six rebounds and three steals. Aaron Scott went 5 of 10 from the field (4 for 7 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points.
The Owls (11-20, 5-13) were led in scoring by Travis Evee, who finished with 21 points and two steals. Max Fiedler added 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Rice. Mekhi Mason also had nine points and six rebounds.
C.J. Noland scored nine points in the first half and North Texas went into halftime trailing 36-31. Edwards' 16-point second half helped North Texas close out the 16-point victory.