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Sixth man propels Memphis to final

 
Published March 16, 2013

TULSA, Okla. — After the best performance of his college career, Chris Crawford's mind was on his teammate's loss.

Crawford set career highs with eight 3-pointers and 30 points as No. 20 Memphis beat Tulsa 86-75 Friday in the Conference USA semifinals, then dedicated it all to teammate D.J. Stephens' late grandmother.

Stephens had 10 points and 10 rebounds after attending his grandmother's funeral earlier in the day.

"These guys wanted to win for D.J. Stephens," said Tigers coach Josh Pastner, whose team faces No. 2-seeded Southern Miss today. "They love D.J."

Crawford made three 3-pointers during a 14-4 run that put the top-seeded Tigers (29-4) in control midway through the second half. He hit two more during a 10-0 run that put away the No. 5-seeded Golden Hurricane.

Big 12: Perry Ellis scored a career-high 23 to help No. 7 Kansas beat Iowa State 88-73 and reach the tournament final in Kansas City, Mo. The top-seeded Jayhawks (28-5) twice needed overtime to beat the No. 5-seeded Cyclones in the regular season. They face the winner of the late game between No. 2-seeded Kansas State and No. 3-seeded Oklahoma State in the title game.

Pac-12: Jordan Adams scored 18 of his 24 in the second half and No. 21 UCLA beat No. 18 Arizona 66-64 to reach the tournament final in Las Vegas. The top-seeded Bruins (25-8) face the winner of the late game between No. 3-seeded Oregon and No. 10-seeded Utah. No. 4-seeded Arizona (25-7) led by 11 in the second half.

Mountain West: Tony Snell scored 17, including five 3-pointers, to lead No. 15 New Mexico past No. 4-seeded San Diego State 60-50 in a tournament semifinal in Las Vegas. The top-seeded Lobos (28-5) face the winner of the late game between No. 2-seeded Colorado State and No. 3-seeded UNLV.

Atlantic 10: No. 25 VCU made 11 3-pointers to beat St. Joseph's 82-79 in the tournament quarterfinals in New York. Treveon Graham scored 18 to lead the No. 2-seeded Rams (25-7), who today face No. 6-seeded Massachusetts. The No. 10-seeded Hawks cut a double-digit second-half deficit to four with 9.1 seconds left. … Dwayne Evans scored 25 to lead No. 16 St. Louis past Charlotte 72-55. Evans made his first seven shots for the top-seeded Billikens (25-6) before missing a putback that bounced off the rim with about 7½ minutes left. He finished 8-of-9 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line for St. Louis, which faces No. 5-seeded Butler in the semifinals.

Bethune-Cookman falls: Shaquille Duncan scored 17 to lead fifth seed Morgan State past Bethune-Cookman 82-71 and into the MEAC tournament final in Norfolk, Va. Adrien Coleman, the MEAC's top scorer, scored eight for the No. 8-seeded Wildcats (14-20). He totaled 52 in wins over No. 9-seeded Coppin State and top-seeded Norfolk State. Morgan State plays No. 7-seeded North Carolina A&T today.

Women: Elena Delle Donne had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 15 Delaware past UNC Wilmington 51-43 in the quarterfinals of the Colonial tournament in Upper Marlboro, Md. The top-seeded Blue Hens (28-3) face fifth-seeded Hofstra. … Megan Lukan scored 19 to lead host No. 20 Green Bay past Detroit 71-54 in a Horizon tournament semifinal. The top-seeded Phoenix (28-2) faces No. 3 seeded Loyola (Ill.). … Briahanna Jackson led six players in double figures with 18 points as UCF beat UTEP 89-77 to reach the C-USA final in Tulsa, Okla. The No. 8-seeded Knights can become the lowest seed to win the tournament by beating No. 6-seeded Tulsa tonight.