Alabama holds off resilient Memphis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Brandon Miller scored 24 points, including 21 in the second half, to lead No. 4 Alabama to a 91-88 win over Memphis on Tuesday night.
Miller hit a three-pointer and then dunked after rebounding his own miss on the next possession in the final two minutes for the Crimson Tide (9-1), sporting the program’s highest ranking in 15 years.
Led by Kendric Davis’ 30 points, the Tigers (8-3) stayed alive most of the way for a second upset of a top 10 Alabama team in as many years and closed the gap in the final seconds.
Alabama had just climbed into the top 5 after becoming the first team to beat two No. 1 teams — North Carolina and Houston — before January since Duke in the 1965-66 season.
Miller had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 three-pointers to help the Tide fight off the challenge this time. Marc Sears scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half and was 9 of 13 from the free throw line.
Noah Clowney, who has won the past two SEC Freshman of the Week honors, fouled out with 11 points and nine rebounds. Jaden Bradley scored 10.
DeAndre Williams had 15 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 6:18 left for Memphis. Davis also fouled out late.
Keonte Kennedy made Memphis’s first three-pointer and his only basket with less than a second left. Damaria Franklin scored six points in the final 25 seconds.
NO. 5 HOUSTON 74, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 46
HOUSTON — Ja’Vier Francis had career highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds, Marcus Sasser scored 17 points, and No. 5 Houston rebounded from its first loss with a victory over North Carolina A&T.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, was 6 of 10 from the field after shooting 2 of 11 and scoring nine points in Houston’s 71-65 loss to Alabama on Saturday. Francis was 7 of 10 as Houston (10-1) shot 50% on the night.
Emanuel Sharp scored 10 points off the bench.
Kam Woods scored 26 points to lead the Aggies (4-5). Woods scored 17 of North Carolina A&T’s 21 first-half points and finished 10 of 18 from the field. Demetric Horton added 11 points.
NO. 9 ARIZONA 99, TEXAS A&M-CC 61
TUCSON, Ariz. — Azuolas Tubelis had 20 points and 13 rebounds and No. 9 Arizona hit a season-high 15 three-pointers in a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Tubelis, a 6-foot-11 junior from Lithuania, early in the game became the 53rd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He shot 9 of 16 and also had four assists.
Henri Veesaar scored a career-high 16 points off the bench, Oumar Ballo had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Cedric Henderson Jr. had 11 points for the Wildcats (9-1).
Arizona played most of the game without junior point guard Kerr Kriisa after he was subbed out at the first media timeout. He didn’t return due to what the team called a non-covid illness.