Written by Adrian Beecher
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The first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament was an eventful one with 2 close games and 1 blowout. Here is the breakdown of Thursdays 1st round.
Game 1 UCF vs ECU
In the first game of the Day the 9 seeded UCF Knights and 8 seeded ECU pirates faced each other and as the game started it looked as if the Pirates would run away with the game as they jumped out to an 30-15 lead with just 6 to play.
The Knights showed their resilience coming back and tying the game with just 4 seconds to play forcing overtime. However, the Pirates would get the best of the Knights as a last second shot didn’t fall for UCF and ECU won the game 81-80 to move onto the second round where they will face the 1 seeded SMU Mustangs at noon on Friday.
Game 1 UCF vs ECU
In the first game of the Day the 9 seeded UCF Knights and 8 seeded ECU pirates faced each other and as the game started it looked as if the Pirates would run away with the game as they jumped out to an 30-15 lead with just 6 to play.
The Knights showed their resilience coming back and tying the game with just 4 seconds to play forcing overtime. However, the Pirates would get the best of the Knights as a last second shot didn’t fall for UCF and ECU won the game 81-80 to move onto the second round where they will face the 1 seeded SMU Mustangs at noon on Friday.
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Game 2 Houston vs Tulane
In the second game we saw another nail biter with the 10 seeded Houston Cougars going up against the 7 seeded Tulane Green Wave. A tight first half saw the Cougars clinging onto just a 3-point lead of 28-25. Houston’s Jherrod Stiggers had an explosive first half with 14 points to lead the team and he added 3 first half rebounds.
Houston did not relinquish the lead in the second half and they jumped out to a 12-point lead with just under 8 minutes to play. The Green Wave were only able to close the gap to four making it 64-60 with just 21 seconds to play. Tulane would then miss a free-throw, a 3-point shot and a layup before Houston scored the final 2 buckets at the free throw line for a 66-60 win. The Cougars advance to face 2 seeded Tulsa in the 6th game on Friday at 7pm on ESPNU.
In the second game we saw another nail biter with the 10 seeded Houston Cougars going up against the 7 seeded Tulane Green Wave. A tight first half saw the Cougars clinging onto just a 3-point lead of 28-25. Houston’s Jherrod Stiggers had an explosive first half with 14 points to lead the team and he added 3 first half rebounds.
Houston did not relinquish the lead in the second half and they jumped out to a 12-point lead with just under 8 minutes to play. The Green Wave were only able to close the gap to four making it 64-60 with just 21 seconds to play. Tulane would then miss a free-throw, a 3-point shot and a layup before Houston scored the final 2 buckets at the free throw line for a 66-60 win. The Cougars advance to face 2 seeded Tulsa in the 6th game on Friday at 7pm on ESPNU.
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Game 3 UCONN vs USF
This one got out of hand quickly as the Huskies had a definitive home court advantage and out played the Bulls from the tip. The Huskies jumped out to a 8-0 lead before USF was able to get their first basket with 13:43 left in the 1st period. With 5:24 left to play in the 1st period, UCONN had extended their lead to 20 points, 25-5. USF then put together a 9-4 run before the half with the score 29-14.
In the second half, the closest the Bulls would get was 13 points, which came with 9:33 left to play in regulation. The Huskies closed out the Bulls by a 26-point margin, winning 69-43 to advance to the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament. UCONN will face 3-seeded Cincinnati on Friday night in game 7 at 9pm on ESPNU.