College basketball: Hield, Cousins help No. 1 Oklahoma hold off LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. — Buddy Hield made seven of his eight 3-pointers in the second half on his way to a 32-point performance, Isaiah Cousins hit a go-ahead jumper with 4 seconds left and No. 1 Oklahoma overcame a 14-point deficit to escape with a 77-75 victory over LSU on Saturday.
Cousins finished with 18 points, and Ryan Spangler had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Sooners (18-2), who summoned the composure to rally down the stretch amid a rabid, packed crowd energized by the Tigers’ strong play for much of the game.
LSU didn’t go quietly. Antonio Blakeney hit a pair of late 3s, and the second tied it at 75 with 24 seconds left.
Ben Simmons had 14 points for LSU (13-8), highlighted by a crowd-pleasing reverse dunk. But those same fans were left frustrated, some hurling garbage, when Khadeem Lattin blocked Tim Quarterman’s driving shot as time ran out. Many fans seemed to think Quarterman was fouled.
Quarterman finished with a team-high 18 points, and Craig Victor scored 15.
No. 2 NORTH CAROLINA 89, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Brice Johnson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and North Carolina beat Boston College for its 12th straight win.
Marcus Paige had 12 points in his highest-scoring game in three weeks while Joel Berry II added 13 points for the Tar Heels (19-2, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).
After shaking off a slow start, the ACC leaders routed its last-place team by forcing 23 turnovers and turning them into 30 points.
Eli Carter had 19 points to lead the Eagles (7-14, 0-7).
They shot 44 percent and hit 10 3-pointers but couldn’t overcome that season-worst turnover total while losing both their eighth straight overall and eighth in a row in the series.
No. 4 KANSAS 90, No. 20 KENTUCKY 84, OT
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Wayne Selden Jr. scored a career-high 33 points, seven in overtime, and Kansas beat Kentucky in the premier showdown of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Frank Mason III added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Jayhawks (17-4), who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats (16-5) by winning their 35th straight game at Allen Fieldhouse.
It wasn’t easy.
The Wildcats built an eight-point lead midway through the second half before Kansas switched to a zone defense and mounted a comeback. Perry Ellis made the second of two free throws to tie the game 76-all with 9 seconds left, and Tyler Ulis coughed up the ball at the other end before Kentucky got off a shot.
In fact, the turnover gave Mason a chance for a half-court heave that he nearly made.
But when the game went to overtime, Selden simply took over.
Ulis finished with 26 points and eight assists for Kentucky.
No. 5 TEXAS A&M 72, NO. 14 IOWA STATE 62
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Danuel House scored 20 points, including a go-ahead 3 late in the second half that sent Texas A&M over Iowa State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
The Aggies (18-3) trailed 58-56 before House hit from beyond the arc with about four minutes left. On their next possession, the senior guard worked his way inside for a layup.
House’s two free throws with 2:29 remaining made it 63-58. House later missed a short jumper, and freshman Tyler Davis tipped it in for a seven-point lead.
Star forward Georges Niang scored 15 points for the Cyclones (16-5).
No. 7 XAVIER 86, DEPAUL 65
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Trevon Bluiett scored 15 points and Xavier used an impressive burst spanning the halves to put away DePaul.
The Musketeers trailed 32-25 before they ripped off 29 of the next 34 points to grab control. J.P. Macura made a 3-pointer and two free throws during a 17-1 run over the final 3:43 of the first half, and Bluiett had two layups and a jumper to help Xavier open a 54-37 lead with 16:13 remaining.
Macura and Larry Austin Jr. had 12 points apiece for the Musketeers (19-2, 7-2 Big East), who have won three in a row since their 81-72 home loss against Georgetown on Jan. 19.
DePaul (7-14, 1-8) lost for the eighth time in its last nine games.
FLORIDA 88, No. 9 WEST VIRGINIA 71
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dorian Finney-Smith scored 24 points, Brandone Francis-Ramirez hit three huge 3-pointers and Florida upset West Virginia in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
It gave first-year Gators coach Mike White a signature win and surely will help his team’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament in March.
Florida (14-7) had lost its last 12 games against top-10 teams, but put together arguably its most complete outing of the season against the Mountaineers (17-4).
Finney-Smith made 7-of-12 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and the Gators never trailed after his first 3 off the opening tip. His last one with 1:02 to play — as fans chanted “S-E-C” and “overrated” — led to a standing ovation.
Jaysean Page and Tarik Phillip scored 15 apiece for West Virginia, which gave up its most points of the season.
No. 10 PROVIDENCE 73, GEORGETOWN 69
WASHINGTON — Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn each scored 26 points, and Providence held off several second-half charges by Georgetown.
Rodney Bullock added 10 points and 14 rebounds, but no other Providence player scored more than six.
The Friars (18-4, 6-3 Big East) beat a Hoyas team looking to pull off its second upset of a top 10 squad in the past two weeks. Georgetown (13-9, 6-3), which erased an 11-point deficit to beat Creighton earlier in the week and defeated No. 5 Xavier on Jan. 19, couldn’t pull off the same magic against Providence.
L.J. Peak led the Hoyas with 19 points, and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 18. Bradley Hayes added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 11 VIRGINIA 63, NO. 16 LOUISVILLE 47
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill each scored 13 points and Virginia used stifling defense to rout Louisville for its fourth straight victory.
The Cavaliers (17-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) were thorough on both ends, holding the Cardinals to season lows in shooting (33 percent) and points nearly a year after losing 52-47 to Virginia last year in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers also shot 58 percent from the field.
Louisville (17-4, 6-2 ACC) committed 18 turnovers in having its four-game winning streak snapped. Reserves Ray Spalding and Deng Adel each 12 points for the Cardinals, who often trailed by 20 points until the final minute. Leading scorers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis combined for just 10 points.
No. 13 SMU 80, MEMPHIS 68
DALLAS — Nic Moore scored 22 points and SMU rebounded from its first loss of the season with a victory over Memphis.
Freshman guard Shake Milton added 15 points for the Mustangs (19-1, 8-1 AAC), who led for all but 38 seconds back home in Moody Coliseum. They had their first double-digit lead 8 minutes into the game.
SMU was the last Division I team to lose this season, falling 89-80 to Temple in a snow-delayed game last Sunday. That ended an 18-game winning streak that was its longest in 60 years.
Ben Moore and Sterling Brown each had 12 points for SMU. Jordan Tolbert grabbed 14 rebounds, and Markus Kennedy had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Shaq Goodwin scored 18 points to lead Memphis (13-8, 4-4), four nights after his career-high 35 points marked the highest-scoring game in the conference this season.
N.C. STATE 85, No. 15 MIAMI 69
RALEIGH, N.C. — Anthony “Cat” Barber scored 30 points to help North Carolina State beat Miami.
Abdul-Malik Abu added 19 points for the Wolfpack (12-10, 2-7 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shook off a month’s worth of struggles with a confident performance. N.C. State led the entire second half and shot 51 percent for the game to snap a three-game skid and earn its first home win in 2016.
Sheldon McClellan scored 18 points to lead the Hurricanes (16-4, 5-3), who never managed to dig themselves out a first-half hole that only grew deeper in the second half.
No. 17 BAYLOR 83, GEORGIA 73
WACO, Texas — Rico Gathers had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Baylor used a quick start to the second half to beat Georgia in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Gathers had one of Baylor’s five three-point possessions during a 17-2 run in the first 4 minutes after halftime to turn a 35-32 deficit into a 49-37 lead. The Bears (17-4) scored just three points before the first media timeout in the first half.
Ishmail Wainright hit a tying 3-pointer 12 seconds into the second half, and Al Freeman put Baylor ahead for good with another in the Bears’ 34th consecutive home win against a nonconference opponent.
J.J. Frazier had 21 points and 11 assists to lead the Bulldogs (11-8), who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
No. 18, ARIZONA 80, OREGON STATE 63
TUCSON, Ariz. — Gabe York made six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, both career highs, and Arizona bounced back from a rare home loss to beat Oregon State.
Ryan Anderson added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-5, 5-4 Pac-12), who were coming off an 83-75 loss to No. 23 Oregon on Thursday night that snapped Arizona’s 49-game home-court winning streak.
Tres Tinkle scored 16 for the Beavers (12-8, 3-6), who stayed with the Wildcats until the final 10 minutes. Gary Payton III had nine points, seven rebounds and six assists.
The win was No. 300 for coach Sean Miller in his career, first at Xavier and now at Arizona.
No. 19 INDIANA 74, MINNESOTA 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Thomas Bryant scored a career-high 23 points to help Indiana hang on for a victory over Minnesota.
The Hoosiers (18-4, 8-1) barely retained their share of the Big Ten lead after blowing a 16-point second-half lead. They’ve won 13 of their last 14.
Minnesota (6-16, 0-10) lost its 11th straight despite getting 21 points each from Nate Mason and Kevin Dorsey, who led the comeback.
The Golden Gophers took a 67-66 lead with 3:54 to go, but Indiana finished the game on an 8-1 run to seal the win.
No. 21 PURDUE 89, NEBRASKA 74
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A.J. Hammons scored a career-best 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Purdue over Nebraska.
Rapheal Davis had 17 points and six rebounds, and Isaac Haas scored 13 for Purdue (19-4, 7-3 Big Ten). Caleb Swanigan contributed six points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers, who improved to 5-0 against Nebraska (12-10, 4-5) in Mackey Arena.
Shavon Shields and Andrew White III each scored 16 to lead the Cornhuskers, who had no answer for 7-footers Hammons and Haas.
