ORLAND0 — A.J. Davis scored 11 of his 16 points from the free-throw line and pulled down 11 rebounds to help power UCF to a 65-56 win over Memphis in an American Athletic Conference battle Wednesday night.
The Knights have beaten Memphis three straight times.
Davis, who has now reached double digits in rebounds in nine of the Knights' 15 games, recorded his fifth double-double of the season.
Djordjije Mumin drilled a trey with :12 left in the first half to cut the Tigers' lead to 22-21 at intermission, but Jamal Johnson hit two straight 3-pointers for Memphis to spark a 36-32 advantage barely five minutes into the second half. UCF (11-4, 2-1) responded with a 9-0 run to take a lead it never relinquished.
Ceasar DeJesus scored 14 points for UCF and Tacko Fall added another 10.
Kareem Brewton Jr. scored 15 points to lead Memphis (9-6, 0-2).
East Carolina 67, South Florida 65
TAMPA — Kentrell Barkley scored 16 points and East Carolina upended South Florida 67-65 in an American Conference matchup on Wednesday night.
Barkley was 6 of 13 from the field for the Pirates (7-7, 1-2). B.J. Tyson added 14 points, Jabari Craig had 13 points and led the team with eight rebounds and Isaac Fleming had 12 points and six assists.
USF led 35-29 at the break but a 23-17 surge by East Carolina to start the second half tied it up at 52-all and a Tyson 3-pointer gave the Pirates a 65-62 edge with 2:04 to play. USF did not score a field goal the rest of the game as the Pirates held on for the win.
Stephan Jiggetts scored 18 points with five rebounds and five assists and Terrence Samuel added 15 points for the Bulls (7-9, 0-3) who have lost the last three.
Gardner-Webb 82, Campbell 80 OT
BUIES CREEK, N.C. — David Efianayi tied a career-high 31 points and made 5 of 6 free throws in the last 28 seconds of overtime to lead Gardner-Webb past Campbell 82-80 on Wednesday.
Patrick Zeck's jumper with 90 seconds to go gave Gardner-Webb (7-8, 2-0 Big South) the lead for good before Efianayi took over from the free throw line.
Efianayi shot 11 of 18 from field and 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Liam O'Reilly scored 15 and Jaheam Cornwall and DJ Laster each scored 13 for the Bulldogs.
Cornwall's 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 71 after Campbell's Chris Clemons made a pair of free throws for a 71-68 lead.
Andrew Eudy's 3 gave Campbell (6-8, 0-2) a 65-53 lead with 6 ½ minutes left before Gardner-Webb went on a three-minute, 12-0 run to knot the score as Efianayi scored 10 of the points.
The Fighting Camels led 39-30 at halftime. Marcus Burk led Campbell with 20 points and Clemons scored 18.
In-State Women's
MELBOURNE - After nearly a month off, Florida Southern College women's basketball showed no rust in an 80-57 blowout of Florida Tech on Wednesday at the Clemente Center. The Moccasins (9-3, 4-2 SSC) led for nearly the entire game to pick up their first win of the New Year and snap the Panthers' (6-6, 3-3) two-game winning streak.
Camille Giardina poured in a season-high 23 points while Anja Fuchs-Robetin notched another double-double, her seventh of the season, and three other players scored in double figures to lead the Mocs to the victory.