The quarterfinals round of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Frisco takes place Thursday with four games on the schedule. WKU opened the evening with a 80-67 win over UTSA, while UAB downed Rice, 73-60. Louisiana Tech battled past Florida Atlantic, 75-69 and North Texas knocked off Old Dominion, 61-55.
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Championship Central
Quarterfinal Round Game 1
WKU 80, UTSA 67
FRISCO, Texas – Charles Bassey and Carlos Williams combined for 36 points and 18 rebounds as the two big men led WKU to an 80-67 win over UTSA in a quarterfinal round game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center.
Bassey showed why he was voted the C-USA Player of the Year with a 21-point showing on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers for the center. He also pulled down nine rebounds and blocked five shots.
Williams closed the night with 15 points and nine rebounds. Taveion Hollingsworth added 12 points and Dayvion McKnight finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
WKU led 14-13 midway through the first half before going on a 24-12 run to close the half and take a 38-25 lead to the locker room at the break. The Hilltoppers led by double-digits the rest of the game.
Defensively, WKU held UTSA to 38 percent shooting from the field. Leading scorer Jhivvan Jackson came into the game averaging 20.5 points per game for the Roadrunners, but the Hilltoppers defense held him to just 5 points. He was limited to 2-of-12 shooting from the field and 1-for-7 from behind the arc.
For the second straight night, Keaton Wallace topped UTSA (15-11) in scoring, finishing with 30 points. That marks the eighth time he has scored 20 or more this season.
WKU advances to Friday’s first semifinal at 11 am CT, where the Hilltoppers will face UAB.
Quarterfinal Round Game 2
UAB 73, Rice 60
FRISCO, Texas – The UAB defense held Rice to one field goal over the final 8:13 and finished the game on a 17-2 run as the Blazers posted a 73-60 victory in a quarterfinal round game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center.
Michael Ertel scored seven of those final 17 points to give him 22 points, a season-high and a new high mark for him in a UAB uniform. Included in his scoring total was 4 3-pointers.
UAB (22-6) held a distinct advantage down low, outrebounding Rice 40-25 and holding a 40-25 rebounding advantage. Kassim Nicholson led the Blazers with nine boards, including five on the offensive end.
Tavin Lovan scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Tyreek Scott-Grayson added 12 points and seven boards.
Max Fiedler closed out his great tournament run with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds for the Rice (15-13). After a 7-for-14 shooting performance tonight, he finished the three games 22-of-34 (65 percent) from the field.
UAB advances to play WKU in Friday’s first semifinal at 11 a.m. CT.
Quarterfinal Round Game 3
Louisiana Tech 75, Florida Atlantic 69
FRISCO, Texas – Isaiah Crawford scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half as Louisiana Tech battled past Florida Atlantic, 75-69 in a quarterfinal round game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center.
Crawford became nearly a one man show down the stretch for the Bulldogs, hitting five field goals and five free throws over the final 7:23, accounting for 15 of the team’s final 17 points. He also finished in a tie for the team lead with nine rebounds.
Jacolby Pemberton, who was 5-of-6 from the field, scored 13 points and also had nine boards for Louisiana Tech (21-6). Kalob Ledoux scored 14 and Amorie Archibald netted 13, as four Bulldog starters reached double figures.
Michael Forrest was on fire in the first half for Florida Atlantic (13-10), going 5-of-5 from three-point range and 6-6 from the field to produce 17 of the team’s 36 points. He would finish with 22 points, the second-most he has scored in a game this season.
Jailyn Ingram came off the bench to score 15 points and Karlis Silins added 12 for the Owls.
Louisiana Tech advances to play North Texas in Friday’s second semifinal at 2 p.m. CT. Those two teams split a pair of close games the first weekend of February.
Quarterfinal Round Game 4
North Texas 61, Old Dominion 55
FRISCO, Texas – Javion Hamlet scored eight of his 15 points in the final 3:23 to help North Texas upend Old Dominion, 61-55 in a quarterfinal round game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center.
Hamlet, who played all 40 minutes, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out seven assists in the win. In the Mean Green’s two wins in frisco, he is averaging 18 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists.
Zachary Simmons was 6-of-8 from the field and scored 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and Mardrez McBride added 14 points for North Texas (15-9).
Old Dominion (15-8) produced 34 of its points in the paint, but were hurt by a 2-for-12 showing from three-point range.
Malik Curry led the Monarchs with 17 points, including 13 first half points.
North Texas advances to play Louisiana Tech in Friday’s second semifinal at 2 p.m. CT. Those two teams split a pair of close games the first weekend of February.