No. 1 Houston survives Memphis with Shead’s last second shot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jamal Shead scored 16 points, including the winning basket as time ran out, and top-ranked Houston escaped a second-half rally by Memphis for a 67-65 win Sunday in the regular-season finale.

Memphis’ Kendric Davis drove to the basket with nine seconds left and tied the game at 65. Houston chose not to call time out.

Shead then maneuvered along the top of the key, created some space from defender Elijah McCadden with a step-back move, let it go from about 18 feet and saw the ball nestle through the net as the lights around the basket showed time had expired.

“I knew coach (Kelvin Sampson) wouldn’t call time out because we’ve been in that situation before and he trusts me,” Shead said, adding: “God willing, I was able to make that shot.”

Sampson said there was too much time left to call time out after Davis tied the game, noting that it also would have allowed Memphis coach Penny Hardaway to make adjustments, put in better defensive players and switch on all ball-screens.

“The difference is we had them in retreat,” Sampson said. “When you get them back on their heels, then you can get a good shot.”

Tramon Mark matched Shead’s 16 points for Houston (29-2, 17-1 American Athletic Conference), while Marcus Sasser finished with 13. Shead also had seven assists.

Davis led Memphis (23-8, 13-5) with 26 points, while Chandler Lawson added 10.

A second-half run by Memphis, capped by a Davis 3-pointer, provided the Tigers a 56-51 lead. But they couldn’t hold it, and Houston scored 10 straight points.

The matchup between the conference’s top teams came two weeks after the Cougars defeated Memphis 72-64 on Feb. 19.

The first half was physical. Officials allowed some tough play near the basket, but Memphis still benefitted at the free throw line. At one point, Memphis had attempted 12 free throws to only one for the Cougars.

The Tigers couldn’t keep pace with Houston’s 3-point shooting, and the Cougars were up 41-32 at half. Memphis made four 3s before the midway point of the second half and took its first lead, 48-47, with 13 minutes left in the game.

“I had a bad game plan in the first half, and I’ll put this on my back,” Hardaway said. “My guys fourth for me. Got back in the game. Had a chance to win. Held them to 26 points in the second half. We’ll just try to do better next time.”

NO. 5 PURDUE 76, ILLINOIS 71: Brandon Newman scored 19 points, Zach Edey added 17 and Purdue held on to beat Illinois in West Lafayette, Indiana, and become the first team to win the Big Ten title by three or more games since 2014.

Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5), who led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied.

Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points, followed by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 13, Sencire Harris with 11 and Luke Goode with 10.

The Boilermakers shot 62% for a 47-26 lead at half, but cooled to 29% in the second half.

PENN STATE 65, NO. 21 MARYLAND 64: Camren Wynter made a layup with less than a second remaining to lift Penn State over Maryland in State College Park, Pennsylvania.

Jalen Pickett scored 16 points, Andrew Funk had 14 and Myles Dread had 11 for the Nittany Lions (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten), who trailed by as many as 16 late in the first half.

Jahmir Young scored 14 of his 26 points in the second half for the Terps (20-11, 11-9), who entered the afternoon looking to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Julian Reese had 12 points for the Terps, while Don Carey and Ian Martinez added 11 each.

(1) KENNESAW STATE 67, (2) LIBERTY 66: Terrell Burden scored 19 points and made a free throw with less than a second left to rally the Kennesaw State Owls (26-8) to a victory over the Liberty Flames (26-8) in Kennesaw, Georgia, earning the Owls their first Atlantic Sun Conference championship and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. It is a remarkable turnaround for Kennesaw State under fourth-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. The Owls finished with a 1-28 record in 2019-20 — Burden’s freshman season and the first under Abdur-Rahim.

(1) UNC ASHEVILLE 77, (7) CAMPBELL 73: Drew Pember had 29 points, Tajion Jones scored 16 in the final 7:35 and the UNC Asheville Bulldogs (27-7) stormed back to beat the Campbell Fighting Camels (16-18) in Charlotte, North Carolina, winning the Big South Conference Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time. Jo’Shon Henry scored 10 points and was the only player in double figures for Bradley.

(2) DRAKE 77, (1) BRADLEY 51: Tucker DeVries scored 22 points and the Drake Bulldogs (27-7) raced to their sixth NCAA Tournament berth with a romp past the Bradley Braves (25-9) in the MVC tournament championship game in St. Louis. Garrett Sturtz and Darnell Brodie added 12 points apiece for the Bulldogs, who were in the title game for the third-straight year, losing the first two to Loyola of Chicago. They last won the tournament in 1996.

(1) Hofstra 94, (8) WILLIAM & MARY 46: Aaron Estrada had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Tyler Thomas also scored 22 and the Hofstra Pride (24-8) routed William & Mary Tribe (13-20) in Washington, D.C. Hofstra will play UNC Wilmington in the semifinals on Monday.

(4) UNC WILMINGTON 73, (5) DREXEL 68: Nick Farrar scored 19 points to lead the UNC Wilmington Seahawks (23-9) over the Drexel Dragons (17-15) in Washington, D.C. UNC Wilmington will play Hofstra in the semifinals on Monday.

(1) COLGATE 91, (4) ARMY 74: Oliver Lynch-Daniels scored 21 points and the Colgate Raiders defeated the Army Black Knights in Hamilton, New York. Colgate will play at home against Lafayette in the championship game on Wednesday.