Conference USA Men's Basketball Round-up

Memphis 60 Southern Miss 58

Southern Miss (15-3, 2-1) carried an 11-game win streak into Wednesday night's match-up with nemesis Memphis.

The Tigers have been a thorn in the Golden Eagles' side over the last decade and they continued to be as they captured their 18th straight victory over USM with a 60-58 win at the FedEx Forum. The last four wins have been by a total of 12 points.

Memphis (11-5, 2-0) managed to build an 11-point cushion in the second half, but Southern Miss used a 14-2 run to surge ahead as it took a 52-51 via a LaShay Page three-pointer with just under five minutes remaining.

However, the Tigers went 18-of-24 from the free throw line compared to just 10-of-17 for the Golden Eagles and kept its impressive streak of dominance alive despite attempting 11 less field goals.

Antonio Barton finished with 13 to lead Memphis. Will Barton tallied 11 points and nine boards while Tarik Black totaled nine points and ten boards for the Tigers.


UCF 74 Houston 63

Isaiah Sykes and Keith Clanton posted double-double performances as the Knights collected their fifth straight win with a 74-63 victory over visiting Houston on Wednesday.

UCF (13-3, 3-0), which improved to 10-0 at UCF Arena, were just 3-of-21 from beyond the arc and 7-of-16 from the charity stripe. However, the Knights outrebounded the Cougars, 44-34, and used 27 offensive boards and better ball security (six turnovers compared to 15 for Houston) to get 23 more shot attempts.

Sykes had 21 points and 14 rebounds while Clanton had 18 points and 13 boards for UCF.

Houston (9-7, 1-2) was led by Alandise Harris and TaShawn Thomas. Harris finished with 19 points and six boards. Thomas totaled 14 points and five rebounds.

The game was the last in a three-game suspension for Knights' coach Donnie Jones.

Marshall 61 UAB 59

After trailing most of the game, Marshall used a late 14-2 run to beat UAB, 61-59, at Bartow Arena on Wednesday night.

The Herd (12-4, 3-0) was behind by as many as ten in the first half and trailed 51-42 with 10:14 to play. However, it used the 14-2 run to surge ahead 56-53 with 4:02 remaining.

UAB (5-10, 0-2) didn't go down without a fight, as back-to-back buckets by Cameron Moore gave the Blazers a one-point lead with just under two minutes to go.

However, Marshall managed to get a three-point play from Robert Goff that would prove to be the winning basket.

The Blazers were outrebounded, 45-34, in the contest and the Herd registered 21 offensive boards.

DeAndre Kane produced 21 points and ten rebounds for Tom Herrion's club while Dennis Tinnon had eight points and a game-high 19 boards.

Moore finished with 22 to lead UAB. Ovie Soko secured a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Rice 68 SMU 52

Rice used an 11-1 run midway through the second half to open a 16-point cushion that it would not relinquish en route to a 68-52 win on Wednesday night at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

The Owls (10-7, 1-1) shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the floor and held a commanding 36-22 advantage on the boards.

Arsalan Kazemi, who came into the contest as the nation's third-leading rebounder at 11.9 per game, posted 21 points and 12 boards to lead three Rice players in double figures. Ahmad Ibrahim and Lucas Kuipers finished with 14 and 10, respectively.

SMU (9-7, 1-1) shot just 38.8 percent (19-of-49) for the game. The Mustangs were 7-of-26 (26.9%) from three and 7-of-14 from the charity stripe.

Robert Nyakundi topped the Mustangs with 14 points. Jeremiah Samarrippas tallied 12 for Matt Doherty's club.

Tulsa 59 UTEP 48

Tulsa used a 13-3 run in game's final ten minutes to tally its first CUSA win of the season with a 59-48 home win over UTEP on Wednesday night.

The Golden Hurricane (8-9, 1-2), which had lost its first two league games--one of which was in overtime--by a combined three points, led 28-22 at the break. Doug Wojcik's club closed the half on a 13-2 run, which included a pair of Scottie Haralson three's.

UTEP (8-9, 1-2) pulled to within one on four occasions in the second half, but couldn't get over the hump.

The Miners and Golden Hurricane both produced 20 field goals in the game, but Tulsa outscored UTEP by ten at the line to earn the victory.

Kodi Maduka and Eric McClellan produced 14 each for Tulsa. The team's leading scorer Jordan Clarkson finished with 10.

Michael Perez led the Miners with 14.