Kentucky turns back Mississippi State
UConn women secure 92nd straight victory
STARKVILLE, Miss. — De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points, Malik Monk added 14 and No. 5 Kentucky beat Mississippi State 88-81 on Tuesday night.
Kentucky (16-2, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) looked like it would cruise to the win after building a 66-49 lead midway through the second half, but Mississippi State responded with 13 straight points to make things interesting down the stretch.
In the end, the Wildcats were too potent offensively. Fox, a 6-foot-3 freshman, had two impressive drives for baskets in the final minutes to thwart a final Mississippi State rally.
Mississippi State (12-5, 3-2) was led by freshman Lamar Peters, who scored a career-high 25 points.
It was an emotional game that featured four technical fouls — two on each team.
Kentucky’s Derek Willis scored all 13 of his points in the first half, stepping out to make three 3-pointers. Fox added 10 points as Kentucky pushed out to a 46-34 halftime lead.
In Waco, Texas, Johnathan Motley set career highs with 32 points and 20 rebounds as the Bears (17-1, 5-1 Big 12) went ahead to stay with a big run before halftime on the way to a victory over the Longhorns (7-11, 1-5).
Nuni Omot, the junior college transfer playing in only his eighth game, had a season-high 14 points. He scored seven in the half-ending 16-4 run that put the Bears up for the first time.
Texas led by as many as eight points early, and was still up by five before Omot’s dunk with just over 5 minutes left in the first half.
In Madison, Wis., Bronson Koenig scored 16 points, 10 in a key run that turned the game around, for Wisconsin.
Michigan (12-7, 2-4 Big Ten) seemed to have Wisconsin (15-3, 4-1) on the ropes at one point in the second half. Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ went to the bench with his third foul early and could largely only watch as the Wolverines went on a 17-2 run that put them up 38-30.
In West Lafayette, Ind., center Isaac Haas had 24 points and six rebounds, and power forward Caleb Swanigan added 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Boilermakers (15-4, 4-2 Big Ten) dominated the Illini (12-7, 2-4).
In Las Vegas, Nev., Trey Kell scored 24 points as the Aztecs (11-7, 3-3 MWC) ran away from the Rebels (9-10, 2-4) in the second half. SDSU stretched a 44-42 edge with 9:55 left to a 61-48 advantage with 3:05 to go. Gokul Natesan’s layup with 14 seconds left gave the Orediggers (14-3, 9-2 RMAC) a win over the Cowboys (6-11, 4-8). Marlon Johnson scored 15 points and had 16 rebonds for Highlands.
In Tulsa, Okla., Katie Lou Samuelson scored a career-high 34 points to help the Huskies (17-0, 5-0 American) beat the Golden Hurricane (5-13, 1-4) for their 92nd consecutive victory.
In Austin, Texas, Joyner Holmes scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, and Ariel Atkins poured in 19 points before fouling out and the Longhorns (13-4, 7-0) defeated the Sooners (14-5, 5-2) in a Big 12 Conference showdown.
In Tampa, Fla., Maria Jespersen tied her career-high with 26 points, on 11-of-18 shooting and coach Jose Fernandez earned his 300th career win as the Bulls (15-2, 4-1 American) cruised to a victory over the Tigers (8-10, 1-4). In Golden, Colo., the Orediggers (1110, 7-5 RMAC) coasted behind a 56-36 edge in rebounds. Kaylani Maiava delivered 19 points for the Cowgirls (2-13, 1-11).