Cincinnati solidifies American 3 seed; beats Memphis 77-65

Mar 8, 2015, 02:35 pm

CINCINNATI -- Octavius Ellis had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Cincinnati solidified a No. 3 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament after its 77-65 win over Memphis on Sunday.

It was Ellis' third double-double of the season.

Farad Cobb had 16 points, Jermaine Sanders added 12 and Gary Clark 11 for Cincinnati (22-9, 13-5). The Bearcats made 50 percent of their 48 field goal attempts and went to the line 29 times compared to Memphis' 15.

Cincinnati jumped out to a 21-4 advantage midway through the first half and held on for a 34-21 lead at halftime behind Cobb's 10 points.

Shaq Goodwin made 9 of 11 field goals and finished with 22 points for Memphis (18-13, 10-8). He also grabbed eight boards but the Tigers were outrebounded 33-22. Calvin Godfrey added 14 points.

Cincinnati and fifth-seeded Memphis will both have first round byes and will play in quarterfinal games on Friday.