Clark, Bearcats nip rivals in AAC final

Gary Clark put Cincinnati ahead for good with a free throw with 4.3 seconds remaining Sunday and the 10th-ranked Bearcats held on or a 5655 victory over No. 19 Houston in the American Athletic Conference championship.

Clark finished with 20 points, and the league regular-season champions rescued themselves for the second straight day with a stellar second-half performance, limiting Houston to 20% shooting and 18 points after halftime.

Cincinnati (30-4) earned the AAC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament with its first conference tournament championship since the Bearcats won Conference USA in 2004.

(20) Kentucky 77, (12) Tennessee 72: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to lead Kentucky to its fourth straight Southeastern Conference tournament championship.

Gilgeous-Alexander was 10 of 16 from the field and added seven rebounds and a pair of steals, and he hit the clinching free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining. Kevin Knox added 18 points and Quade Green had 10 for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats (24-10) were one defeat away last month from what would have been the longest losing streak in the John Calipari era, but they have won seven of eight since – including their first in three tries this season against the No. 2 seed Volunteers

The championship is the 31st in tournament history for fourth-seeded Kentucky, which has won seven of its past eight games.

Davidson 58, (22) Rhode Island 57: Freshman Kellan Grady’s goahead baseline floater with 1 minute 14 seconds left ended a nearly 13-minute drought without a field goal for Davidson and gave the Wildcats (2111) the Atlantic 10 title.

Pennsylvania 68, Harvard 65: Darnell Foreman scored 19 points, AJ Brodeur had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Penn earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007 in the Ivy League tournament title game.

Ryan Betley added 17 points for the Quakers (24-8).