No. 21 SMU 69, Temple 56: Markus Kennedy posted 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Mustangs in an American Athletic Conference tournament semifinal at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

Kennedy made 9-of-12 free throws off the bench while Yanick Moreira overcame an early ankle injury to notch 11 points and eight rebounds for top-seeded SMU (26-6), which faces sixth-seeded Connecticut in Sunday's championship game. Nic Moore had seven points and six assists while Sterling Brown added eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Mustangs.

Quenton DeCosey put up 14 points and five rebounds for Temple (23-10), which didn't trail until early in the second half. Jesse Morgan contributed 10 points while Will Cummings and Obi Enechionyia had nine and eight, respectively, for the Owls.

Just as they did Friday against East Carolina, the Mustangs got off to a slow start, making 2 of their first 11 from the floor as Temple raced out to a 17-7 advantage in the first nine minutes. SMU closed the gap by scoring seven straight, including a 3-pointer by Brown, but trailed 28-26 at the break despite closing the half with an 8-2 run.

Moreira scored twice, Brown hit another triple and Kennedy converted two free throws to give SMU its first lead at 35-34, and the Mustangs increased the margin to seven as Moore connected on his first 3-pointer. Ryan Manuel's dunk made it 49-38 with 12 minutes left and the Owls could not make a run, trailing by at least seven points thereafter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Moore, who averages 14.3 points, didn't make his first field goal until the final two minutes of the first half and finished the opening period with two points on 1-of-6 shooting. ... F Cannen Cunningham scored 11 points, including six in the final four minutes for SMU, which had a 45-32 edge in rebounding. ... Temple shot 29.3 percent from the field and went 4-of-24 beyond the arc.