Villanova routs frozen Temple
NO. 1 VILLANOVA 87, TEMPLE 67
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Brunson helped Villanova continue its remarkable reign of Philadelphia.
Brunson had 22 of his career-high 31 points in No. 1 Villanova’s dominating first half and Omari Spellman scored 27 to help lead the Wildcats to an 87-67 rout of Temple on Wednesday night.
Donte DiVincenzo added 12 points for Villanova (11-0), which won its unprecedented 22nd consecutive Big 5 game.
The 6-foot-2 Brunson made 8 of 10 shots, including 5 of 7 three-pointers, and added 4 assists while controlling the first half.
Brunson added 6 rebounds and 5 assists and ended 11 for 16 from the field and 6 for 10 from beyond the arc in 38 turnover-free minutes.
Quinton Rose scored 27 points for the Owls (6-3), who began the week at No. 11 in the RPI rankings. It was the third consecutive season Temple played Villanova as a No. 1, and the Owls fell to 2-18 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents.
NO. 9 TEXAS A&M 113, SAVANNAH STATE 66
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Tyler Davis recorded 17 rebounds and 14 points and No. 9 Texas A&M had seven players with 10 or more points while rolling over Savannah State.
D.J. Hogg led the balanced scoring for the Aggies (9-1) with 18 points. Davis overpowered the smaller Tigers (3-8) near the basket on 5-of-9 shooting.
Javaris Jenkins led Savannah State of the MEAC with 18 points. The Tigers, who lead the country in three-point attempts, fired 40 shots from beyond the arc, making 12.
NO. 24 TEXAS TECH 82, KENNESAW STATE 53
LUBBOCK, Texas — Keenan Evans scored 16 points and No. 24 Texas Tech defeated Kennesaw State for its first victory as a ranked team in eight years.
Texas Tech (8-1) rolled to a 42-19 halftime lead, holding the Owls to 4-of-19 shooting and outrebounding them 26-10. Kennesaw State (1-8) shot 33 percent for the game.
Tommy Hamilton IV and Zach Smith scored 11 points each and Justin Gray added 10 for the Red Raiders.
James Scott scored 19 points for the Owls and Tyler Hooker had 14, going 9 of 11 on free throws.
SUN BELT MEN NEBRASKA-OMAHA 77, ARKANSAS STATE 74
Arkansas State University (3-7) fought back from a 19-point second-half deficit to take a late one-point lead but couldn’t hang on in falling to Nebraska-Omaha (2-10) at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.
The Red Wolves were down 54-35 with 14:35 left in the game before going on a 35-15 run, capped by Salif Boudie’s layup with 2:29 remaining that gave them a 70-69 lead. The Mavericks went back up by three, 73-70, before ASU took its final lead, 74-73, on Grantham Gillard’s layup with under a minute to play.
The Mavericks then closed the game on a 4-0 run.
Ty Cockfield led the Red Wolves with 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. Deven Simms had 12 points and Tamas Bruce chipped in 10 for ASU, which shot 50 percent (30 of 60) from the field.
Zach Jackson led the Mavericks with 22 points, with JT Gibson adding 14 more.
BRADLEY 86, UALR 46
Bradley (8-2) shot 60.8 percent (31 of 51) from the field on its way to a 40-point drubbing of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (2-8) at Carver Arena in Peoria, Ill.
The Braves dominated in every area and led for the entire game. Their largest lead was 45 points (81-36) with 4:45 left in the game.
The Trojans shot 35.6 percent (16 of 45) from the field, including 36.0 percent (9 of 25) on three-pointers. The Braves made 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) of their attempts.
Bradley forced 20 UALR turnovers and converted them into 26 points.
Cameron Corcoran led UALR with 14 points in 18 minutes of play. Jaizec Lottie added 12 points for the Trojans.
Donte Thomas had 12 points to lead the Braves, who had three players finish with 11 points.
SWAC MEN FRESNO STATE 78, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 52
Fresno State (9-2) started the second half on an 18-4 run and never looked back in its victory over the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-11) at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.
The Bulldogs led 38-25 at halftime before beginning the second half on its 14-point spree to lead 56-29 with 13 minutes left. Fresno State eventually built its advantage as high as 30 points, 78-48, on a Nate Grimes free throw with 3 minutes remaining.
Fresno State shot 54.9 percent (28 of 51) from the field, including 43.5 percent (10 of 23) on three-pointers.
UAPB, which trailed 38-25 at halftime, was 39.6 percent (21 of 53) from the field, including 23.5 percent (4 of 17) from three-point range.
Fresno State had four players in double figures, led by Sam Bittner’s 15 points.
UAPB’s Martaveous McKnight led all scorers with 16 points.