Road kill no more, Eagles crush Pitt
Entering last night’s men’s basketball game against Pittsburgh, Boston College had gone nearly three years without a victory on the road against an ACC foe.
The Eagles hadn’t won a road conference game since March 3, 2015, at Virginia Tech, but they hammered Pitt, 81-58, to end one streak and perpetuate another. The Panthers lost their 14th straight game in conference play. “We’re not that team anymore,” Boston College coach Jim Christian said. “We’ve been close. We had Virginia to one. We were down 18 at Louisville and cut it to two. We’ve showed signs, but that last step has got to be taken by these guys, together.”
Despite Pitt’s struggles and the lopsided final score, it wasn’t an easy victory for the Eagles (16-10, 6-7). Pitt opened up a big lead midway through the first half. The Panthers were ahead by 15 at one point and had Eagles star Jerome Robinson off his game and in foul trouble.
But the Eagles went on a long run late in the first half that nearly erased the Pitt advantage by halftime. From the 6:42 mark in, the Eagles used a 16-4 run to close to within two. A 9-0 surge early in the second game them the lead for good.
Robinson led the way with 27 points. Jordan Chatman added 17 points, helped by 5-of-12 shooting from 3-point range.
Freshman guard Parker Stewart had 16 points to lead the Panthers (8-19, 0-14).
Rhode Island 85, Richmond 67 — Weymouth’s Jared Terrell had 17 points and the No.16 Rams (21-3, 13-0 Atlantic 10) extended their winning streak to 16 games by stepping on the Spiders (9-16, 7-6) in Kingston, R.I.
Cyril Langevine added 15 points and six rebounds off the bench for URI, which has the longest single-season streak in school history.
Anna Maria 102, Mount Ida 84 — Mike Rapoza tied for the third-best shooting performance in NCAA history, making all 18 shots he took from the floor and finishing with 42 points and 19 rebounds as the Amcats (8-15, 5-9 Great Northeast) raced past the Mustangs (10-13, 4-10) in Paxton.
Only two players have shot 100 percent in a game and made more shots (20).
Salve Regina 70, Endicott 68 — Kevin Kelly scored 13 points, including the winning basket with 21 seconds remaining, as the Seahawks (10-14, 7-10 Commonwealth Coast) stunned the Gulls (16-8, 11-6) in Beverly.
In AP Top 25 games: Virginia 59, Miami 50 — De’Andre Hunter scored 22 points, including a fourpoint play, and the newly minted No.1 Cavaliers (242, 13-1 ACC) never trailed, holding the Hurricanes (187, 7-6) to 38 percent shooting in Coral Gables, Fla.
Michigan State 87, Minnesota 57 — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored a career-high 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting as the No. 2 Spartans (253, 13-2 Big Ten) routed the Golden Gophers (14-14, 3-12) in Minneapolis.
Texas Tech 88, Oklahoma 78 — Keenan Evans scored 26 points and the No.7 Red Raiders (22-4, 10-3 Big 12) beat the No.23 Sooners (169, 6-7) in Lubbock, Texas.
Division 1 scoring leader Trae Young, playing his first and possibly last college game in the city where he was born, continued to struggle, missing all nine 3-pointers while finishing with 19 points in front of a hostile Lubbock crowd.
Kansas 83, Iowa State 77 — Udoka Azubuike scored 19 points, Malik Newman had 17 and the 13th-ranked Jayhawks (20-6, 9-4 Big 12) bounced back from a brutal loss at Baylor by beating the Cyclones (13-12, 4-9) in Ames, Iowa.
Tennessee 70, South Carolina 67 — Grant Williams scored 22 points and made a big basket in the closing seconds as the No. 18 Volunteers (19-6, 9-4 SEC) edged the Gamecocks (1313, 4-9) in Knoxville, Tenn.
Missouri 62, Texas A&M 58 — In Columbia, Mo., Kassius Robertson scored 16 points, Jordan Barnett added 15 and the Tigers (18-8, 8-5 SEC) defeated the No. 21 Aggies (17-9, 6-7) to push their winning streak to five games.