Vols relive buzzer-beater nightmare
Ex-Aggie Rice shines for surging No. 5 Texas
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — D’Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an offbalance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win..
The end was similar to Tennessee’s Wednesday loss to Vanderbilt. Vescovi missed a free throw then and a 3-pointer at the buzzer ended the game. The Vols have now lost three of the last four.
“We all hurt for (Vescovi). He’s hurting. He’s won a lot of games for us,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes.
EX-AGGIE SHINES: In Austin, Texas, New Mexico State transfer guard Sir’Jabari Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in No. 5 Texas’ 94-60 win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3. Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) with 13 points.
Rice was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
WILDCATS UPSET: In Stanford, Calif., Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned No. 4 Arizona 88-79. The Wildcats (22-4, 11-4) had a sevengame win snapped. Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
AROUND THE MOUNTAIN (WEST): In San Diego, Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points as No. 25 San Diego State, the Mountain West Conference frontrunner, defeated UNLV 82-71. It was the third straight win and seventh in eight games for the Aztecs (20-5, 11-2), who buried the Runnin’ Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8).
In Boise, Idaho, Tyson Degenhart scored 20 points in part on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and was one of five Broncos in double figures as Boise State (19-6, 9-3) topped Wyoming 75-63. Hunter Maldonado scored 14 points for Wyoming (7-17, 2-10), which next plays Tuesday at New Mexico.
Women
NMSU ROUTED: In St. George, Utah, host Utah Tech (15-8, 7-5 Western Athletic Conference) shot a scalding 61 percent from the field and blasted New Mexico State 90-57. Ashlee Strawbridge and Molly Kaiser had 11 points each to lead the Aggies (12-13, 7-6), who dropped their third straight game.
SETTING TWO RECORDS: In Villanova, Pa., Maddy Siegrist scored a careerhigh 50 points to become the Big East Conference’s career regular-season scoring leader and No. 15 Villanova (224, 13-2) won 99-65 over Seton Hall (15-10, 8-7). Siegrist posted the first 50-point game in Division I women’s action this season, making 20 of 26 shot attempts. She grabbed 10 rebounds and did not commit a foul or turnover.
UCONN SLIDE ENDS: Washington Dorka Juhász had 18 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 4 Connecticut (22-4, 14-1 Big East) fend off Georgetown 67-59, snapping a rare two-game losing streak. Freshman Kennedy Fauntleroy had a game-high 24 points for the Hoyas (12-13, 5-11), who have lost 34 consecutive games to Connecticut.
SUPER SUNDAY: The game of the year takes place in Columbia, S.C., on Sunday when top-ranked South Carolina (24-0, 11-0 SEC) hosts No. 3 LSU (23-0, 11-0) in pre-football showdown at noon MT on ESPN.