Virginia Wesleyan falls in return to court
STATE MEN
N.C. Wesleyan 75, Virginia Wesleyan 62
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — The Marlins (0-2) became one of the few regional Division III programs to play lately amid the pandemic, but they lost Saturday to the Bishops.
North Carolina Wesleyan got 25 points and seven rebounds from Damon McDowell and 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks from Isaiah Lewis.
VWU senior Tyree Golston had 18 points, three steals, and two assists, while Tim Fisher added 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Lamont Steward added eight points and six rebounds.
The Marlins, who lost 77-57 on Dec. 22 at Old Dominion, fell behind N.C. Wesleyan by margins of 18-5, 32-12 and, at halftime, 43-18.
Virginia Wesleyan began the second half on an 8-0 run but couldn’t reduce the deficit to single digits. The Marlins next will play Wednesday at Salisbury.
JMU 81, Towson 72
TOWSON, Md. — Matt Lewis scored 30 points and Vado Morse had 18 as James Madison (7-4,
1-0 Colonial Athletic Association) boosted its winning streak to three. The Dukes, who got five points and four rebounds from former Landstown High standout Michael Christmas, took control late in the first half and led thereafter.
Demetrius Sims netted 16 points for the Tigers (1-5, 0-1), whose season frequently has been interrupted by virus-related pauses.
Rhode Island 80, George Mason 60
KINGSTON, R.I. —Fatts Russell’s 18 points and four assists and Antwan Walker’s 17 points propelled the Rams (7-7, 4-3 Atlantic 10) past the Patriots (6-6, 2-4).
Jordan Miller had 22 points and Tyler Kolek 13 for George Mason, which led 23-13. URI erased that margin by late in the first half and outscored the Patriots 46-26 in the second half.
VMI 110, The Citadel 103
LEXINGTON — Jake Stephens had 33 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as the Keydets (7-6,
2-2 Southern Conference) won a thriller against the Bulldogs (8-2, 1-2), one of their biggest rivals. VMI led throughout the second half, though The Citadel nearly erased a 14-point deficit.
Greg Parham had 27 points and nine rebounds for VMI, while Sean Conway had 25 points and 13 rebounds. The Citadel’s Kaiden Rice had 29 points and seven rebounds.
TOP 25 MEN
No. 2 Baylor 68,
No. 15 Texas Tech 60
LUBBOCK, Texas — Davion Mitchell had 19 points and Jared Butler finally scored late as Baylor overcame Texas Tech to stay undefeated after their closest game this season.
Butler, the preseason AP All-American coming off a season-high 28 points in the last game, was 0-for-9 shooting with six turnovers before hitting consecutive 3-pointers for the Bears (12-0, 5-0 Big 12) in the final five minutes.
No. 23 Minnesota 75, No. 7 Michigan 57
MINNEAPOLIS — When two of the Big Ten’s best and tallest players faced off just last week, Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson made his 7-foot-1 mark on a decisive win over Minnesota.
Liam Robbins and his teammates stepped up in a big way to avoid the repeat.
Robbins had 22 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes to lead the Golden Gophers on Saturday, handing Michigan its first loss while holding Dickinson to a season-low nine points.
Marcus Carr scored 17 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 10 points for the Gophers (11-4,
4-4 Big Ten), who played their seventh straight game against an team ranked in the Associated Press poll. According to Minnesota’s research, this was the most consecutive Top 25 opponents for any NCAA team since St. John’s faced eight in a row in 2011.
Butler 70, No. 8 Creighton 66 (OT)
INDIANAPOLIS — Aaron Thompson scored 17 points, found Bryce Nze for the go-ahead layup with 68 seconds left in overtime, and played shutdown defense late to help the Bulldogs overcome a 13-point deficit and end the Bluejays’ six-game winning streak.
Thompson played nearly 41 minutes in his third game back from a sprained knee. The Bulldogs (4-7, 3-5 Big East) needed every ounce of energy he had — especially after falling into a 58-45 deficit with 7:38 left in regulation.
But Thompson steadied the defense and his teammates took the cue. After missing 14 consecutive shots, the Bulldogs answered with a 17-2 run to take a 62-60 lead on Thompson’s slicing layup with 57.4 seconds left in regulation. Denzel Mahoney, who scored 23 of his season-high 29 points in the second half, made two free throws for Creighton (10-3, 6-2) to tie the score with 36.6 seconds to go in regulation.
No. 21 Ohio State 87, No. 14 Illinois 81
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — E.J. Liddell scored 26 points as
Ohio State won a brutal Big Ten matchup.
The game was very physical, mostly in the second half. One technical was called, on Ohio State’s Duane Washington Jr., and the officials had to step in many times to avoid fisticuffs.
Washington, Justin Ahrens and Seth Towns each added 11 for Ohio State (11-3, 5-3). The Buckeyes were missing injured guards C.J. Walker and Jimmy Sotos.
Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois (9-5, 5-3) with 22 points. Kofi Cockburn scored 15 and freshman Adam Miller added 14 points for the Illini.
No. 17 Missouri 68, Texas A&M 52
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Dru Smith scored 15 points for Missouri, which shook off rust from an 11-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols to beat the Aggies.
Jeremiah Tilmon added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (8-2, 2-2 SEC).
Andre Gordon paced the Aggies (7-5, 2-4), who are guided by former Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams, with 19 points.
Postponement: No. 6 Kansas’ home game against Iowa State was postponed because of COVID-19 concerns in the Cyclones’ program.
LOCAL INTEREST
Navy 87, American 86, OT
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —Cam
Davis had a career-high 34 points to outduel Stacy Beckton Jr. and carry Navy to a victory. It was the first game for the Eagles this season, while the Midshipmen (8-1, 5-0 Patriot League) have won seven straight.Beckton Jr. scored 30 points, his career high.
Of the teams that elected to play this year, Patriot League members American and Loyola of Baltimore were the last to see action.
Army 79, Boston University 59
BOSTON — Senior forward Alex King scored 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting for the Black Knights (7-3, 3-2 Patriot League) as they beat the Terriers (1-4, 1-4).
STATE WOMEN
James Madison 75, Elon 63
ELON, N.C. — Kiki Jefferson had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Dukes (6-3, 2-0 CAA), who led throughout the second half and hit all 11 of their free throws in that span. Saadia Munford had 21 points for the Phoenix (4-3, 0-1).
LATE FRIDAY (MEN)
No. 9 Wisconsin 60, Rutgers 54
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — D’Mitrik Trice had 13 points and five assists and turned in a strong second half for the Badgers (11-3, 5-2 Big Ten).
Trice scored eight points and assisted on another basket in a 12-0 run that gave Wisconsin a 54-44 lead with 4:19 to go.
Wisconsin shot 35% from the field, and Rutgers (7-5, 3-5) shot 37%. Jacob Young led the Scarlet Knights with a game-high 17 points.