FORT WORTH, Texas — Kobe Knox had 17 points and top-seeded South Florida beat No. 8 seed East Carolina 81-59 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Knox had six rebounds for the Bulls (24-6). Selton Miguel scored 17 points and added three steals. Kasean Pryor finished with 10 points.
The Pirates (15-18) were led in scoring by RJ Felton, who finished with 16 points, two steals and two blocks. Brandon Johnson added 15 points and 10 rebounds for East Carolina. Ezra Ausar finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
South Florida took the lead with 16:48 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The score was 44-30 at halftime, with Chris Youngblood racking up 10 points. Miguel scored a team-high 10 points in the second half.
MEAC Tournament
Delaware State 71, NC Central 58
NORFOLK, Va. — Deywilk Tavarez had 20 points in Delaware State’s 71-58 upset win over second-seeded North Carolina Central on Friday night in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
Tavarez also added five rebounds for the Hornets (15-17). Jevin Muniz scored 16 points and added five rebounds. Martez Robinson finished with 12 points.
Keishon Porter led the way for the Eagles (18-13) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Fred Cleveland Jr. added 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals for North Carolina Central. Po’Boigh King also had 11 points.
A 13-3 run in the first half gave Delaware State a five-point lead. The teams entered the break with Delaware State ahead 27-26, while Muniz led their club in scoring with 10 points. A 10-0 run in the second half turned a zero-point deficit into a 10-point lead for Delaware State. They outscored North Carolina Central by 12 points in the final half, as Tavarez led the way with a team-high 14 second-half points.
AAC Tournament
Temple 58, Charlotte 54
FORT WORTH, Texas — William Settle scored 14 points to lead 11th-seeded Temple in a 58-54 upset win over third-seeded Charlotte in Friday’s quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.
Settle added six rebounds for the Owls (15-19). Joran Riley added 11 points with 10 rebounds. Hysier Miller had 11 points.
Lu’Cye Patterson led the 49ers (19-12) in scoring, finishing with 17 points, two steals and two blocks. Nik Graves added 14 points for Charlotte. Dishon Jackson had nine points.
Settle scored six points in the first half and Temple went into halftime trailing 22-18. Temple used a 7-0 second-half run to come back from a two-point deficit and take the lead at 32-27 with 12:15 left in the half before finishing off the victory. Riley scored 11 second-half points.
