No. 3 Michigan St. tops Seton Hall
NEWARK, N.J. — Freshman Malik Hall hit a layup with 26 seconds to play and scored all 17 of his points in the second half as No. 3 Michigan State overcame a late five-point deficit and beat No. 12 Seton Hall 76-73 on Thursday night in a wildly exciting contest worthy of March Madness.
Cassius Winston added two free throws with 3.4 seconds to play to push the lead to three points, and the Spartans (2-1) played tough defense on drives in the lane by Sandro Mamukelashvili and Myles Powell in the waning seconds. The Pirates (2-1) eventually saw a desperation half-court heave by Powell bounce off the top of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
Winston scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, playing his second game in less than a week after the death of his brother, Zachary.
Powell was remarkable, finishing with 37 points.
FLORIDA 66, TOWSON 60
Freshman Scottie Lewis scored 15 points in his first start, and the 15th-ranked Gators escaped with a victory over the Tigers in Gainesville, Fla.
ARIZONA 87 SAN JOSE ST. 39
Zeke Nnaji scored 26 points, made all eight of his shots and grabbed 11 rebounds, helping the 19th-ranked Wildcats trounce the Spartans in Tucson, Ariz.
WISEMAN DROPS LAWSUIT
James Wiseman and his advisers have decided a legal battle with the NCAA is not the best way to keep the heralded freshman on the basketball court.
The 7-1 center withdrew his lawsuit and the dramatic turn of events in the much-debated saga means Wiseman now will sit on Memphis’ bench until the NCAA rules otherwise.
Wiseman successfully won the opening round against the NCAA and the university, obtaining a restraining order to continue playing after being ruled likely ineligible for receiving improper benefits from Penny Hardaway. But Thursday morning Wiseman’s attorneys announced he withdrew his lawsuit, saying the legal action was not helping resolve the issue.
Women BAYLOR 112 HOUSTON BAPTIST 42
Te’a Cooper scored 23 points, Queen Egbo had a career-high 21 points starting in place of injured preseason AP All-America post Lauren Cox, and the No. 2 Lady Bears routed the Huskies in Waco to improve to 3-0.
Lauren Calver had 11 points for Houston Baptist (2-1).
TEXAS 84, UTSA 53
Charli Collier had career highs with 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the No. 22 Longhorns past the Roadrunners in Austin.
Texas (1-1) is 10-0 against UTSA (2-1) and has won all nine home openers with coach Karen Aston.