Penn State breaks skid vs. Wisconsin
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — John Harrar managed an awkward smile and quick laugh after pulling himself up from the baseline where he had just been denied — by the rim — a highlight-reel dunk on an otherwise career-best day.
The missed wide-open slam aside, Harrar did plenty otherwise to help Penn State snap a decade-long skid against Wisconsin with an 8171 win over the No. 14 Badgers on Saturday.
Harrar scored 14 of his career-high 17 in the second half and the Nittany Lions, who trailed 34-41 at halftime, led for all but 1:16 of the final 20 minutes.
“I think he just has great confidence now, and he should,” Penn State Coach Jim Ferry said. “He’s putting pressure on me. I’ve got to start running plays for him.”
Myreon Jones scored 20 points and Izaiah Brockington added 18 Nittany Lions (6-7, 3-6 Big Ten), who had lost 13 in a row against Wisconsin — including eight at home.
Penn State’s first win in the series since 2011 came after Jones sparked the offense with back-to-back baskets to open the second half. Brockington and Harrar helped them steadily increase the margin.
Brockington, who a few minutes in set the tone with a high-flying, left-handed dunk, led the surge with eight points in the first 9:25. Wisconsin tried to keep pace, but Harrar was strong in the paint and made a tough and1 jumper to help Penn State extend its lead to nine with 2:12 to play. Penn State built on it with free throws in the waning seconds.
“The defensive end was my main concern here, how we were not able to keep the ball out of the paint,” Wisconsin Coach Greg Gard said. “The notion that we’re going to outscore teams is a fairy tale. We’ve got to be really good defensively.”
The Nittany Lions scored 15 points off 12 Wisconsin turnovers and finished with 17 fast-break points. Jamari Wheeler had five assists, while Seth Lundy and Brockington each had three.
“I just think the way we play, and when these guys are locked in and these guys share the ball like this, we’re a hard team to defend,” Ferry said.
Nate Reuvers led Wisconsin (13-5, 7-4) with 18 points, Aleem Ford had 15 and Tyler Wahl 13.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 75
MALIBU, Calif. — Drew Timme had 19 points and Gonzaga routed Pepperdine for its 21st consecutive victory.
Andrew Nembhard added 17 points and eight assists, Corey Kispert scored 16 points and Aaron Cook had a career-high 15 for Gonzaga (17-0, 8-0 West Coast).
Colbey Ross led Pepperdine (7-8, 3-3) with 16 points and seven assists.
NO. 3 VILLANOVA 80, SETON HALL 72
NEWARK, N.J. — Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 23 points in 21 minutes and No. 3 Villanova rolled to ninth consecutive victory with an unexpectedly easy decision over Seton Hall.
Jermaine Samuels added 17 points and Justin Moore had 16 for Jay Wright’s team. Collin Gillespie had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists.
The Wildcats (11-1, 6-0 Big East) built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and were really never threatened in handing Seton Hall (9-8, 6-5) its third consecutive loss to a ranked opponent.
Shevar Reynolds had 13 points and Jaren Rhoden, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Myles Cale all scored 12 points for Seton Hall.
NO. 20 VIRGINIA TECH 65, NO. 8 VIRGINIA 51
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Keve Aluma scored a career-high 29 points to lead No. 20 Virginia Tech to a victory over No. 8 Virginia.
Aluma hit 10 of 15 shots from the floor, including two three-pointers to help the Hokies (13-3, 7-2 ACC) rally from a 10-point deficit in the second half. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak to the rival Cavaliers.
Jay Huff paced Virginia (11-3, 7-1) with 13 points. The Cavaliers saw their seven-game winning streak and 15game ACC winning streak halted.
The Hokies trailed by 10 early in the second half, and outscored Virginia 21-4 to end the game. That outburst included a 19-0 run in which Aluma scored seven points and Hunter Cattoor hit two three-pointers.
Cattoor finished with 15 points for Virginia Tech, which became the third team to shoot at least 50% percent against the Cavaliers this season (22 of 44).
Kihei Clark scored 11 points for the Cavaliers, who made just one shot from the floor in the final 8:25. GEORGIA TECH 76,
NO. 16 FLORIDA STATE 65
ATLANTA — Moses Wright scored 23 points and Georgia Tech beat No. 16 Florida State, ending the Seminoles’ five-game winning streak.
Florida State (10-3, 6-2 ACC) had 19 points from RaiQuan Gray. The Seminoles couldn’t overcome Wright and the Yellow Jackets’ backcourt duo of Jose Alvarado, who had 21 points, and Michael Devoe, who had 19.
Georgia Tech (8-5, 4-3) never trailed in the second half and snapped a twogame losing streak.
NO. 17 CREIGHTON 69, DePAUL 62
CHICAGO — Marcus Zegarowski scored 19 points and Creighton beat DePaul.
The cold-shooting Bluejays (13-4, 9-3 Big East) made just enough baskets to come out on top in a game that got heated in the first half. They hit all eight of their free throws in a closing 10-2 run and beat the Blue Demons (3-7, 1-7) for the 13th consecutive time.
Ray Salnave scored a season-high 21 points for DePaul.
PURDUE 81,
NO. 21 MINNESOTA 62
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Brandon Newman scored 21 of his season-high 29 points in the second half, Trevion Williams added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Purdue rallied to beat Minnesota.
The Boilermakers (12-6, 6-4 Big Ten) have won five of six. Coach Matt Painter earned his 174th Big Ten victory, tying former Illinois coach Harry Combes for No. 8 on the conference’s career list.
Liam Robbins scored 15 points for Minnesota (11-6, 4-6). The Golden Gophers fell to 0-5 on the road and have lost five of seven.
NO. 23 UCLA 57, OREGON STATE 52
LOS ANGELES — Cody Riley had 16 points and 10 rebounds and UCLA outlasted Oregon State.
The Bruins (13-3, 9-1 Pac-12) extended their home winning streak to 16 games. They have won eight of nine overall, rebounding from a one-point loss to Stanford last weekend.
Ethan Thompson led Oregon State (8-7, 4-5) with 16 points.