PJ Haggerty, Dain Dainja and No. 16 Memphis win AAC tourney with a 84-72 win over UAB

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — While Memphis was a lock to make the NCAA Tournament even before tipping off in the American Athletic Conference Tournament championship game, coach Penny Hardaway and the 16th-ranked Tigers got another trophy on the way to Seattle.

PJ Haggerty scored 23 points and Dain Dainja had another double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Tigers beat UAB 84-72 on Sunday to wrap up the tournament after also winning the league's regular-season title for the first time.

“We’re winners. We want to keep that winning edge and start the tradition going again of Memphis being associated with winning,” Hardaway said. “We don’t want to leave anything on the table that we have an opportunity to win. As long as I’m the coach here, we’ll never look at a tournament as just something to do just to get to the next thing.”

Memphis (29-5) is in the NCAA Tournament for the 29th time, and the third time the past four seasons with the seventh-year coach who as player for the Tigers was part of the 1992 and 1993 tournaments. They are the No. 5 seed in the West Regional, and play Friday against Colorado State (25-9), which has won 10 in a row.

Haggerty put the Tigers ahead of UAB to stay with his tiebreaking bank shot with 16:10 left. The AAC player of the year later had a 17-second span when he drove the baseline for another shot off the glass, then had a steal that led to his fastbreak ending with a three-point play.

Yaxel Lendeborg had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Blazers (22-12), last year’s AAC tournament champion who had to win the game that ended less than a half-hour before the Selection Show to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Efrem Johnson had 17 points.

Lendeborg's 23rd double-double matched Stanford's Maxime Raynaud for the most this season, but he was worn out after three double-doubles in as many days.

“I feel like I couldn’t go. But I had to, so I tried to push through it. It was hard to breathe,” said Lendeborg, who finished the AAC tourney with 72 points and 50 rebounds.

Dainja had his fifth double-double in eight games. Colby Rogers added 15 points for Memphis and Moussa Cisse had 14 rebounds.

It was a battle inside all day between 6-foot-9 standouts, and Lendeborg took a slap to the face from Dainja when trying to make a shot early in the second half. The foul was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul and Lendeborg made both free throws to tie the game at 39-all with 16:54 left.

The Blazers maintained possession and Alejandro Vasquez made a go-ahead layup for their last lead. Dainja then had a tying layup before Haggerty put Memphis ahead.

“I never thought we really got comfortable. Some of that’s them. Some of that’s us,” UAB coach Andy Kennedy said. “When they made a spurt in the second half, we were unable to keep pace.”

Memphis played without its top two point guards. Starter Tyrese Hunter got hurt in the second half of Saturday's semifinal win over Tulane and was on the bench with a boot on his left foot. Dante Harris hasn't played since suffering a high ankle sprain March 4. Their status for the NCAA Tournament was uncertain. Baraka Okojie, a sophomore transfer from George Mason, got his first start with the Tigers and opened the game with a 3-pointer on his only shot of the game.

UAB: The Blazers have won at least 22 games in each of Kennedy’s five seasons at his alma mater.

Memphis: The Tigers, AAC regular-season champions for the first time, won the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

The AAC tournament ended a five-year run at Dickies Arena. The league hopes to announce its next site before the NCAA Final Four. The finalists are home cities of AAC members: Memphis, Tennessee; Wichita, Kansas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Tampa, Florida.

AP college basketball:  https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll  and  https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Memphis players and coaching staff celebrate after winning the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament against UAB, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis players and coaching staff pose for a photo after winning the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament against UAB, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis players and coaching staff celebrate after winning the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament against UAB, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis forward Dain Dainja (42) scores between UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg (3) and guard Alejandro Vasquez (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg (3) looks to pass during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Memphis in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis forward Nicholas Jourdain (2) shoot after being fouled by UAB guard Tony Toney (6) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg (3) brings the ball down court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Memphis in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

UAB head coach Andy Kennedy reacts to a call during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Memphis in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg (3) passes around Memphis forward Dain Dainja (42) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway instructs his defense during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UAB in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis guard PJ Haggerty (4) shoots over UAB forward Bradley Ezewiro (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Memphis forward Dain Dainja, left, looks to shoot around UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the American Athletic Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two purported mobsters were convicted Thursday of plotting to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her home in New York City in a murder-for-hire scheme that prosecutors said was financed by Iran's government.

The verdict was returned at a federal court in New York, ending a two-week trial that featured dramatic testimony from a hired gunman and Alinejad, an author, activist and contributor to Voice of America.

Alinejad, who was not in court, told The Associated Press she cried when she learned of the verdict.

“I am relieved that after nearly three years, the men who plotted to kill me have been found guilty. But make no mistake, the real masterminds of this crime are still in power in Iran,” she said. “Right now I am bombarded with emotions. I have cried. I have laughed. I have even danced.”

Alinejad called the verdict “a powerful gift from the American government” to the people of Iran because it shows that justice is beginning to be served.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement that the verdict sent a message that “if you target U.S. citizens, we will find you, no matter where you are, and bring you to justice.”

Leslie R. Backschies, who heads the FBI's New York office, said the verdicts show that the “Iranian government's shameless conduct and attempt to violate our laws and assassinate a critic of their human rights atrocities will not be tolerated.”

Prosecutors said the convicted men, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, were crime bosses in the Russian mob. Their lawyers argued that they were innocent and trial evidence was flawed.

Alinejad, 48, was targeted by Iran for her online campaigns encouraging women there to record videos of themselves exposing their hair in violation of edicts requiring they cover it in public.

Iran offered $500,000 for a July 2022 killing of Alinejad after efforts to harass, smear and intimidate her failed, prosecutors said.

American officials have accused Iran of backing several assassination plots in the United States, including against President Donald Trump when he was campaigning last year. Tehran has denied being behind any such plots.

Alinejad testified last week that she came to the United States in 2009 after she was banned from covering Iran's disputed presidential election and the newspaper where she worked was shut down.

Establishing herself in New York City, she built an online audience of millions and launched her “My Stealthy Freedom” campaign, telling Iranian women to send photos and videos exposing of them showing their hair when the morality police were not around.

Soon, she said, she had inspired women to take to the streets in Iran on Wednesdays to peacefully protest, leading the government to arrest hundreds of them. The crackdown only caused her following to grow, however.

Prosecutors said at trial that by 2022, the Iranian government had enlisted organized crime figures including Amirov and Omarov to kill Alinejad.

Khalid Mehdiyev, a former member of the Russian mob who lived Yonkers and worked at a pizzeria, testified that he was hired as the hitman. Like Amirov and Omarov, he is from Azerbaijan, which shares a border and cultural ties with Iran.

Mehdiyev, who cooperated with prosecutors after pleading guilty to multiple crimes, said he bought an AK-47 to kill Alinejad but the plan was foiled when his car was stopped by police and the gun was found in the back seat in July 2022. A doorbell camera at Alinejad's home recorded Mehdiyev standing on her front porch.

Prosecutors have kept the investigation open. In October they announced charges against a senior Iranian military official and three others, none of whom are in custody.

In a separate case, U.S. prosecutors in 2022 charged a man in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard with plotting to kill former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton.

Iranian officials vowed to exact revenge against Trump and others in his former administration over the 2020 drone strike that killed the prominent Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Alinejad said she has had to move nearly two dozen times since the assassination plot was discovered, at times feeling guilty that so many of her followers in Iran lack a safety net.

That, she said, only “makes me more determined to give voice to voiceless people.”

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of two men accused of allegedly plotting to kill her in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her alleged would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad blows a kiss to supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - Masih Alinejad, 48, a prominent Iranian American human rights activist gives an interview Press in Berlin, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of two men accused of allegedly plotting to kill her in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Masih Alinejad greets friends and supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)