The 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco continues on Thursday evening.  Quarterfinal action began with a surprise, as No. 9 Southern Miss upset No. 1 Middle Tennessee, 71-68, in overtime. No. 4 seed Marshall eliminated UTSA with a 95-81 triumph.  Southern MIss and Marshall will meet in the first semifinal Friday at 12:30 p.m. CT. Opening the late slate on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. will be No. 10 Louisiana Tech vs. (2) Old Dominion. The day’s final matchup seeds No. 6 UAB and No. 3 WKU at 9 p.m.

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Quarterfinals: Game 5
(9) Southern Miss 71, (1) Middle Tennessee 68
Bolstered by hitting 13 three-pointers, Southern Miss pulled off the dramatic upset, knocking off top-seeded Middle Tennessee, 71-68, in overtime in 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 ninth-seeded Golden Eagles (15-17) will advance to face Marshall at 12:30 pm CT on Friday.
 
The deep shot played a significant role throughout the game, with Southern Miss hitting 13-of-25 treys (52%) and Middle Tennessee connecting on 11-of-20 (55%).  But the Golden Eagles kept the long-range shooting going strong late, hitting a pair of 3-bombs in the final two minutes of regulation and two more in the overtime session.
 
No three-pointer was more important Dominic Magee’s 3-pointer with 2:36 left in overtime that put Southern Miss up 69-64.  A pair of free throws from Tyree Griffin and D’Angelo Richardson got the Golden Eagles to 71 points and helped ice the game.
 
Golden Eagles guard Cortez Edwards led all scorers with 23 points, nailing five of his six attempts from 3-point range.  It was the third straight game that he has topped the 20-point mark and the ninth time this season.
 
Magee’s key overtime trey helped him finish with 12 points and he added nine rebounds and three steals.  Griffin added 11 points with six steals.
 
C-USA Player of the Year Nick King scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half and overtime for Middle Tennessee.  He also pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
 
Giddy Potts drained all four of his 3-point attempts for the Blue Raiders and finished with 14 points.  He also chipped in with seven rebounds and four assists.
 
NOTES:
The loss by Middle Tennessee marked the second time in three years that the No. 1 seed in the C-USA Championship lost in the quarterfinals (top-seeded UAB fell to WKU in 2016).
 
This was the first overtime in the C-USA Championship since 2015, when UAB defeated Louisiana Tech, 72-62, in the semifinals.
 
Southern Miss advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
 
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Quarterfinals: Game 6
(4) Marshall 95, (5) UTSA 81
No. 4 Marshall topped No. 5 UTSA 81 in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco behind double-digit efforts from four players. The Thundering Herd will meet No. 9 Southern Miss in the first semifinal matchup 12:30 p.m. CT Friday. 

Marshall outscored UTSA in both halves as C.J. Burks erupted for 29 points and nine rebounds in 39 minutes. Ajdin Penava shot 6-of-11 from the field, 11-for-12 from the free throw line, for 23 points, 12 boards, two assists and two blocks. Jon Elmore and Jannson Williams both collected 15 points each. 

UTSA's scoring action was evenly distributed as Bryon Frohnen, George Willborn III and Nick Allen each tabulated 16 points with Frohnen grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Giovanni De Nicolao and Keaton Wallace fired off 13 points apiece. 

Marshall came ready to play, manufacturing an 18-point lead late in the first half. Wallace sunk a pair of frees with 3:35 left in the game to close the deficit by six, but the Thundering Herd continued with the hot hand and never lost a lead.

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Quarterfinals: Game 7
(2) Old Dominion 62, (10) Louisiana Tech 58
Brandan Stith scored 14 of the team’s final 19 points to lead Old Dominion to a 62-58 victory over Louisiana Tech in 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 second-seeded Monarchs (25-6) will advance to face WKU in the second semifinal at 3 pm CT on Friday.
 
Stith’s late scoring flurry allowed him to finish with a game and season-high 22 points (17 in the second half). He also pulled down 12 rebounds to give him his seventh double-double of the season.  
 
Trey Porter finished with 18 points, punctuated by his dunk that put ODU ahead to stay at 60-58 with 59 seconds left in the contest.  He finished 7-of-9 from the field and connected on all four of his free throw attempts. 
 
It was a strong all-around performance for the Monarchs’ Ahmad Caver, who scored 10 points, dished out eight assists and pulled down seven rebounds, including the board that set up Porter’s dunk.
 
Old Dominion turned in a good performance at the free throw line, hitting on 16 of 18 attempts. 
The Monarchs were 13-of-14 in the second half.
 
Three straight threes in a key stretch in which LA Tech erased a six-point deficit (45-39) to take a three-point lead.
 
Louisiana Tech took 33 of its 61 shots from behind the three-point arc, connecting on 10 of them.  The 10 treys allowed the Bulldogs to set a new single-season program record with 287 three-pointers made.
 
Derric Jean led the way for LA Tech with four 3-pointers and he finished with a team-high 14 points.  Jacobi Boykins was the only other Bulldog to reach double-figures, netting 10. 
 
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Quarterfinals: Game 8
(3) WKU 98, (6) UAB 70
No. 3 WKU ran on all cylinders and silenced No. 6 UAB 98-70 Thursday night in the last quarterfinal game of the 2018 C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco. The Hilltoppers have a 3 p.m. Friday meeting with second-seeded Old Dominion. 

WKU averaged 59.7 percent from the floor and won the battle of the boards 34-27. Taveion Hollingsworth drew up 22 points, while Darius Thompson dropped 20, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals in 40 minutes. Justin Johnson notched a double-double on 19 points and 10 rebounds with two steals. Lamonte Bearden also inked 19 points in 33 minutes. 

Five Blazers reached double figures, led by Zack Bryant with 16 and three assists. Nate Darling dropped 13 points and Lewis Sullivan had 10. William Lee had a team-high eight rebounds to pair with 12 points. Chris Cokley also pinned 12 points with six boards. 

WKU maintained a steady lead throughout most of the game and built its largest gap at 28 less than two minutes to go in the second frame. UAB closes the books on its season with a 20-13 record, a three-win improvement from last year. 

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