The 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco began on Wednesday. To tip off the men’s championship, No. 9 Southern Miss edged No. 8 FIU, 69-68 and No. 5 UTSA downed No. 12 UTEP, 71-58. On Wednesday night, No.10 Louisiana Tech edged No. 7 North Texas, 68-62 and No. 6 UAB posted an 83-72 win over No. 11 Florida Atlantic.
Championship Central
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First Round: Game 1
(9) Southern Miss 69, (8) FIU 68
Cortez Edwards matched his career high with 29 points as Southern Miss edged FIU, 69-68, in the first round of the 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco. The ninth-seeded Golden Eagles (15-17) will advance to face No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee at 6 pm CT on Thursday.
Edwards scored 20 or more points for the second straight game and the eighth time this season. He scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half, going 6-of-8 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the second stanza.
Golden Eagles guard Dominic Magee registered a career high in rebounds with 14, including 13 on the defensive end. That is the third-most defensive rebounds ever in a C-USA Championship (record is 15). Magee added nine points and three assists.
Southern Miss has now won at least one game in nine of its last 10 C-USA Championship appearances.
FIU guard Brian Beard, Jr. led all scorers with a career-high 30 points. Beard, who also dished out seven assists, poured in 20 of his points in the second half. He became the 22nd player in the league’s 23-year history to score at least 30 points in a C-USA Championship game.
Eric Lockett chipped in 15 points for FIU and added seven rebounds.
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First Round: Game 2
(5) UTSA 71, (12) UTEP 58
No. 5 UTSA toppled No. 12 UTEP comfortably 71-58 on Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco. The Roadrunners will face fourth-seeded Marshall at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
UTSA used a balanced attack to upend UTEP in a C-USA Texas showdown, muscling more effective shooting percentages from the field (41.3), free throw line (80.0) and from beyond the arc (29.2). The squad also won the battle of the boards 45-34.
Byron Frohnen combined for 14 points on 6-of-9 FG shots, 14 rebounds, six assists and a block and a steal.
Deon Lyle dropped a team-best 18 points in 26 minutes.
Three Miners inked double figures, highlighted by
Trey Wade's 10 points (5-7), 10 rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes of play.
Evan Gilyard threw down a game-high 29 points and
Omega Harris pitched in 12 points and six rebounds.
The Roadrunners evened their all-time record in league championship play after earning back-to-back first-round wins. The last victory saw UTSA upset the then eighth-seeded WKU in 2017.
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First Round: Game 3
(10) Louisiana Tech 68, (7) North Texas 62
Jacobi Boykins scored a game-high 21 points to lead Louisiana Tech to a 68-62 victory over North Texas in the first round of the 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco. The No. 10 seed Bulldogs (17-15) will advance to face No. 2 seed Old Dominion at 8:30 pm CT on Thursday.
Boykins was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line, including 6-for-6 in the second half. LA Tech connected on 17-of-21 free throw attempts in the second stanza to finish the game 20-of-26 at the charity stripe.
Derric Jean, who sunk a team-best nine free throws for the Bulldogs, finished with 17 points and five assists.
Louisiana Tech trailed 22-18 late in the first half before going on an 8-0 run to take a lead it would not relinquish. The victory assures the Bulldogs of their seventh consecutive winning season.
The Mean Green produced a pair of 20-point scorers in
Ryan Woolridge and
Roosevelt Smart. Woolridge added six assists and five rebounds.
NOTE:
The success continues for Louisiana Tech over Texas teams in the city of Frisco. In December the Bulldogs football team posted a 51-10 win over SMU in the DXL Frisco Bowl. Last Friday, the LA Tech baseball team defeated No. 9 Texas A&M, 4-2, in the Frisco Baseball Classic and tonight the Dunkin’ Dogs men’s basketball squad defeated North Texas, 68-62.
A constant to the Bulldogs success in Frisco is former Louisiana Tech football player and current Dallas Cowboys safety
Xavier Woods. He was on the sidelines for the DXL Frisco Bowl, threw out the first pitch for LA Tech’s diamond win over Texas A&M and was sitting courtside for tonight’s hoops victory.
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First Round: Game 4
(6) UAB 83, (11) Florida Atlantic 72
Zack Bryant and
William Lee exploded for 20+-point games in No. 6 UAB’s 83-72 first-round win over No. 11 Florida Atlantic Wednesday at the 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco. No. 3 WKU awaits the Blazers in the quarterfinal nightcap at 9 p.m. Thursday.
UAB shot 55 percent as a team (33-60), draining 6-of-19 treys to contribute to the highest point total of the men’s tournament. Bryant went 10-for-13 from the field to tally a game-high 25 points, and pulled down six rebounds in 34 minutes. Lee chipped in 20 points bolstered by 4-of-8 3-pointers, and another six boards.
Florida Atlantic saw four players reach double figures.
Ronald Delph was a rebound shy of a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Jailyn Ingram contributed 16 points with three boards and three assists.
Justin Massey and
Payton Hulsey notched 15 and 11 points, respectively.
UAB has now won five of their last seven C-USA Championship games, including a title in 2015. The Blazers will set their sights on a quarterfinal victory on Thursday after being sent home by Louisiana Tech in the second round in 2017.
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