No. 1 Kentucky KO’d by Evansville
Ex-Wildcat coaches Aces to upset at Rupp Arena
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Sam Cunliffe scored 17 points, including two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining, as Evansville stunned No. 1 Kentucky 67-64 on Tuesday night.
K.J. Riley added 18 points as the Purple Aces — coached by Walter McCarty, who won a national title with Kentucky in 1996 — pulled off the biggest upset in program history with their first win over a No. 1 team in three tries.
“We just believed and trusted each other and made plays for each other. Guys came out and gave their all. They’ve got a good basketball team. Kentucky’s going to be a really good team, going to be around at the end of it,” McCarty said. “We played a heck of a game tonight.”
Evansville led much of the game and answered each Kentucky rally with clutch baskets to grab the lead and then maintain it for the season’s biggest upset. The Wildcats were a 25-point favorite.
Kentucky had been 39-0 at home against unranked, nonconference opponents when ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll. Evansville, meanwhile, got its first-ever road win over an AP-ranked team.
No. 17 UTAH STATE 97, DENVER 56: In Logan, Utah, Brock Miller scored a careerhigh 27 points as Utah State cruised to a victory over Denver.
Alphonso Anderson added 15 points and Sam Merrill had 14. Justin Bean led the Aggies with 15 rebounds.
The Aggies (3-0) jumped out to an 18-5 lead over the first five minutes. Miller scored Utah State’s first eight points, hitting two 3s and a jumper.
UTEP 65, NEW MEXICO STATE 50: In El Paso, Bryson Williams scored 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting as UTEP topped New Mexico State.
Jordan Lathon had 13 points for UTEP (2-0), which made 23 of 49 shots.
Trevelin Queen had 21 points for the Aggies (1-1), who were held to 37% shooting and converted just two of 11 free throws. Terrell Brown added 10 points.
The Miners scored 22 points off 16 Aggies turnovers and owned a 34-28 edge in points in the paint despite being outrebounded, 39-33.
UTEP plays Eastern New Mexico at home on Friday. New Mexico State takes on Southern at home on Thursday.
NEVADA 80, TEXAS-ARLINGTON 73: In Reno, Nev., Jalen Harris had 24 points and nine rebounds as Nevada held off TexasArlington (2-1) in the first meeting between the schools.
Jazz Johnson had 16 points and Nisre Zousoua came off the bench to score a career-high 16. Harris was 11 of 14 at the free throw line.
The Wolf Pack (2-1) took a 38-35 lead into the break but quickly surrendered that when Jabari Narcis drained consecutive 3-pointers to go out front 41-40. Lindsey Drew answered with a driving layup to give Nevada a 44-43 lead at the 15:37 mark. K.J. Hymes followed with a dunk for a 46-43 advantage. The Wolf Pack led the rest of the way.
AIR FORCE 69, ARMY 57: In West Point, N.Y., Ryan Swan had 10 points and 10 rebounds to lift Air Force to a win over Army.
The victory made Dave Pilipovich the fourth coach to reach 100 wins at Air Force and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Black Knights.
Lavelle Scottie had 17 points for Air Force (2-1). Sid Tomes added 10 points.
SAN DIEGO 72, FRESNO STATE 66 (OT): In San Diego, Joey Calcaterra scored six of his team-high 21 points in overtime as San Diego defeated Fresno State for its first triumph of the season.
Braun Hartfield made two big shots in overtime and Alex Floresca added a three-play play for the Toreros (1-2) of the West Coast Conference.
Women
TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL 98, NEW
MEXICO HIGHLANDS 71: In Las Vegas, N.M., the visiting Dust Devils (1-2) used a 34-16 second-period surge to defeat the Cowgirls.
Jordyn Lewis led Highlands with 22 points, but also had eight of the Cowgirls’ 31 turnovers.
UTEP at NMSU: The 1-1 Aggies will face 1-0 UTEP on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Pan Am Center.
New Mexico State has lost at home to UC Riverside 60-58 and prevailed at Denver 78-75 behind Gia Pack’s 29 points.
UTEP’s lone game was a 63-50 home win over UC Riverside on Saturday.