Houston Cougars top Memphis 71-53 to win American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship

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UPDATED: March 13, 2022 -- 10:18 p.m. CT

POSTED: March 13, 2022 -- 5:35 p.m. CT

FORT WORTH, TX -- (Dickies Arena)

The Houston Cougars men's basketball team defeated the 3-seed Memphis Tigers 71-53 to win the 2022 American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

Fabian White Jr led a very balanced Houston scoring attack with 20 points. Taze Moore added 11 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jamal Shead finished the game with 10 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Kyler Edwards scored 8 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with 5 assists.

White only played three minutes Saturday because of back tightness; but, he showed no signs of any issues with his back Sunday. White set the tone with 14 points in the first half and helped Houston to a 36-24 lead at halftime.

Houston (29-5 overall) made 6 of 14 three-point shots in the opening half while Memphis missed all 5 of their three-point attempts.

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Memphis scored the first 5 points in the second half to trim Houston's lead to 36-29; but, White scored a jumper in the paint which began an 8-0 Houston to boost Houston's lead to 44-29 with 16:57 left in the game.

Memphis freshman phenom Jalen Duren capped off a 12-3 Memphis run with a slam dunk to pull within 6 (47-41) of Houston with 11:09 on the game clock.

Houston's lead was sliced to 4 (51-47) after Duren threw down a two-hand dunk; but, Houston big man Josh Carlton answered with a dunk from an assist from teammate Taze Moore. Carlton made the free throw to complete the three-point play.

Fabian White made 2 foul shots before Carlton got another dunk (assist from Kyler Edwards) to stretch Houston's lead to 58-47 at the 4:51 mark.

Memphis got within 7 (60-53) with 3:07 remaining in the game; but, Jamal Shead sank a big three-pointer to up Houston's lead to 10. Then, after Kyler Edwards got a steal, Shead was fouled by Alex Lomax. A flagrant 1 foul was called on Lomax. Shead made both free throws and, after Houston got the ball after the free throws, Carlton was fouled and made 2 free throws for a 67-53 Houston lead with 1:59 left in the game.

Carlton added 2 more free throws and a layup to end the game with 18 points.

Memphis did not score in the final 3:07 of the game. Memphis made 1 of 10 three-pointers in the game while Houston made 8 of 24 three-point tries. Houston also outscored Memphis 18-6 in points off turnovers.

Winners of back-to-back American Athletic Conference Tournament Championships, Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson praised his players for overcoming adversity this season.

"The credit goes to those players," Coach Sampson said to ESPN's Myron Medcalf after the game. "It starts with them because they've earned this. And, that staff. Those guys work and they work every day."

"Our kids didn't want to leave any doubt who the best team in the conference was," Coach Sampson said.

Houston is the 5th-seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament and will face 12-seed UAB Friday, in Pittsburgh, PA. Time and tv network to be determined.

CLICK HERE for The HRR's write-ups of Coogs' men's hoops games.