A&M slips past Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. — TJ Starks scored 15 points and hit the game-deciding basket with 58 seconds remaining as Texas A&M beat Georgia 61-60 on Wednesday night.

Tyler Davis added 13 points, and Admon Gilder and D.J. Hogg each scored 11 for the Aggies (19-11, 8-9 Southeastern Conference). Despite the losing league record, A&M feels secure about its NCAA Tournament status after winning two straight road games heading into its regularseason finale Saturday at home against Alabama.

“It just gets us prepared for what’s to come,” Davis said of the close finish. “We’ve got one more game and then we have the SEC tournament, so we just have to lock in and focus on what’s ahead.”

Yante Maten finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia (16-13, 7-10). The Bulldogs led by four with under two minutes remaining but missed their last five shots from the field and did not score again.

A&M, which led by nine at halftime, rallied when Admon Gilder hit a 3-pointer with 1:16 to play and Starks connected for the go-ahead basket after a Georgia turnover.

The Bulldogs missed two 3-pointers after Starks’ basket, including a wild shot by Juwan Parker that sailed far from the rim as the buzzer sounded.

XAVIER 84 PROVIDENCE 74

Trevon Bluiett scored 23 points in his final game at the Cintas Center, and the No. 3 Musketeers never trailed while beating the Friars, clinching at least a share of their first Big East championship.

Xavier (26-4, 14-3) can win it outright by beating DePaul on Saturday and end Villanova’s run of four straight regularseason titles.

Bluiett will leave Xavier as its second all-time scorer.

VILLANOVA 69 SETON HALL 68

Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, Jalen Brunson made big plays down the stretch, and the No. 4 Wildcats avoided consecutive losses for the first time since the 2012-13 season with a hard-fought overtime victory over the host Pirates.

Brunson, who was 1 of 8 from the field midway through the second half, finished with 14 points, including two free throws in the waning seconds of overtime to give Villanova a 69-66 lead.

CLEMSON 76 FLORIDA ST. 63

Marcquise Reed scored 22 points, and the No. 18 Tigers won a programrecord 11th Atlantic Coast Conference game with a home victory over the Seminoles.

Clemson (22-7, 11-6) had won 10 league games six times in 64 years as an ACC member but has never before won this many conference games.

KENTUCKY 96 MISSISSIPPI 78

Kevin Knox had 22 points and Quade Green added 18 to help the No. 23 Wildcats pull away from the visiting Rebels for their fourth straight win.

INCARNATE WORD 83 HOUSTON BAPTIST 71

Ian DuBose and Braxton Bonds scored 16 points apiece for the Huskies but couldn’t prevent a loss at San Antonio.

HBU (6-24, 2-15 Southland Conference) has lost four in a row.

Shawn Johnson scored 28 points for Incarnate Word (7-20, 2-15).

Women

HOUSTON BAPTIST 67 INCARNATE WORD 56

Sydney Carr scored 18 points to lead the Huskies to victory at Sharp Gym.