Conference USA: Conference USA Tournament Quarterfinals

Conference USA Tournament Quarterfinals: Morris Almond, the Conference USA Player of the Year, again came up huge for No. 7 Rice, scoring 30 points, including a three-pointer with less than three seconds left, as the Owls beat No. 2 Central Florida 53-51. Josh Peppers was valiant in defeat for the Golden Knights, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. No. 1 Memphis continued to roll over the rest of the conference, abusing No. 8 Marshall 92-71. Reserves Doneal Mack and Jeremy Hunt each scored 19 points for Memphis. Robert McKiver scored 28 points and was 5-of-9 from three as No. 3 Houston beat No. 6 Southern Miss 62-59. The Cougars were able to hold off a furious second-half rally by Southern Miss. Kevin Sims sunk two free throws with 12.8 seconds left to provide the margin of victory as No. 4 Tulane beat No. 5 Tulsa, 58-56. Jamel McLean had a double-double for Tulsa with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Memphis will battle Tulane tomorrow, and Rice and Houston will continue their intracity rivalry. [3/08/07]