Sion James helps Tulane hold off No. 10 Memphis

NEW ORLEANS » Sion James scored a season-high 22 points, and Tulane held off 10th-ranked Memphis 81-79 on Sunday to hand the Tigers their second straight loss.

James hit a pivotal corner 3 that put Tulane (12-6, 3-3 American Athletic Conference) up 77-75 with 2:22 left. And Collin Holloway capped his 13-point performance with a layup and two free throws in the final 1:43 to put the Green Wave in front for good.

Kevin Cross added 21 points for Tulane, which nearly beat another ranked team 10 days earlier, when the Wave fell 85-84 to No. 23 Florida Atlantic after a disputed foul call on a desperation 3-point shot with less than a second on the clock.

David Jones had 32 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis (15-4, 4-2). Malcolm Dandridge scored 13 points for Memphis and had a career-high eight blocked shots.

NO. 14 ILLINOIS 86, RUTGERS 63»

Justin Harmon scored 18 points and Terrence Shannon Jr. added 16 in his return to lead five Illinois players in double figures as the Illini beat Rutgers.

The Illini (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten Conference) were 4-2 in six games without Shannon, who hadn’t played since Illinois’ 97-73 victory over Missouri in St. Louis on Dec. 22.

Clifford Omoruyi had 22 points and nine rebounds for Rutgers (10-8, 2-5).

Quincy Guerrier had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season for Illinois, while Coleman Hawkins and Marcus Domask each added 12.

NO. 23 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 112,

UTSA 103» Johnell Davis had 34 points, including three free throws to force overtime, and Florida Atlantic overcame a career-high 38 points by Jordan Ivy-Curry to beat UTSA.

Alijah Martin added 26 points as Florida Atlantic won its fourth straight.

The Owls (15-4) remain tied with Charlotte atop the American Athletic Conference at 5-1 while the Roadrunners (7-12) fell to 1-5.

After trailing most of the game, Florida Atlantic went on a 9-0 run to take a 10296 lead with 2:26 remaining in overtime.