American Athletic Conference Tournament Recaps

Mar 13, 2014 - 10:24 PM Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Jherrod Stiggers netted 19 points and the Houston Cougars upset 25th-ranked SMU, 68-64, in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday.

L.J. Rose and TaShawn Thomas donated 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the triumph, with Thomas also contributing nine rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Danuel House scored 11 in Houston's (17-15) fifth win in its last six games.

Really proud of our guys, big win for us," said Houston head coach James Dickey. "J-Rod (Stiggers) kept us in the game in the first half and hit some big shots and when you have four guys in double figures that always helps."

The Cougars will take on Louisville in the semis.

Cannen Cunningham had 14 points in a reserve role for SMU (23-9), which has lost three in a row for the first time all season. Markus Kennedy finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Nick Russell added 10 points. Nic Moore shot 0-for-9 from the floor but handed out a game-high eight assists in the setback.

"We got outplayed," admitted SMU head coach Larry Brown. "You gotta give them credit ... I just thought they punched us in the mouth and we just didn't respond very well."

A pair of turnovers on Houston's first two possessions led to two easy SMU buckets and an early 4-0 edge. The spread reached 7-0 on a Sterling Brown corner triple and Houston took a timeout at 17:37 to regroup.

Stiggers injected some life into Houston's offense out of the break, hitting three 3-pointers to pull the Cougars within 14-13 midway through the opening period. Rose's triple at 8:12 gave Houston its first lead.

Russell netted eight points during a 12-4 SMU flurry to close the half and the Mustangs carried a 38-29 margin into the locker rooms.

Brown's layup just over two minutes into the second made it 42-32 before Thomas sparked a 16-4 Houston push. Thomas scored seven during the surge, while House and Stiggers hit consecutive 3-balls on the back end for a 51-46 Cougars edge at 12:29.

The lead held the rest of the way, with Houston sinking a number of timely baskets down the stretch. Thomas' layup with 1:23 remaining was the big one, as it gave the underdog Cougars a 64-59 advantage.

It was a three-point lead after two Moore free throws. House missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Thomas swatted Kennedy at the rim with 17 seconds left. House then sealed it with two from the stripe.

Game Notes

The Mustangs, who led the conference in field goal percentage (49 percent) during the regular season, shot just 40 percent in the loss ... Moore shot 8- of-10 from the free throw line.

Final Score: (5) Louisville 92, Rutgers 31

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Jones supplied 18 points and six steals as fifth-ranked Louisville embarrassed Rutgers, 92-31, to reach the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

Russ Smith netted 16 points with five assists, Terry Rozier had 14 points off the bench while Luke Hancock and Montrezl Harrel scored 13 apiece. Louisville (27-5) forced 26 turnovers which led to 44 points in the romp.

The Cardinals will take on Houston, which was a surprise winner over No. 25 SMU earlier, in the semis.

Myles Mack scored eight points and Kadeem Jack had seven with six rebounds for Rutgers (12-21), which led 7-6 early on before Louisville closed out the first half on a 52-9 run.

The Scarlet Knights edged South Florida, 72-68, in the opening round on Wednesday.

Mack's triple at 16:47 boosted Rutgers to a 7-6 lead before Louisville began a stretch that blew the game open.

Rozier scored five straight and Jones added a trey during the Cardinals' 13-0 flurry, which Smith capped with a jumper for a 26-10 margin.

A pair of Jack jumpers were the only points Rutgers mustered over the final 7:34 of the stanza, while Louisville got whatever it wanted offensively. Rozier's three-point play 1:24 before halftime put the finishing touches on a dominant first 20 minutes with the Cards on top, 58-16.

The Scarlet Knights scored six straight to open the second half, but Hancock's 3-ball four minutes in re-ignited the Louisville attack.

The final spread was the largest margin of victory between conference opponents this season.

Game Notes

Louisville has won 10 of its last 11 games ... The Cardinals outscored Rutgers 194-85 in the last two meetings ... Louisville improved to 21-3 in the month of March since 2012 ... Louisville outscored Rutgers 38-12 in the paint and 30-4 in transition ... Jack turned it over seven times ... Rutgers shot just 12-of-50 (24 percent) from the floor.