Jones lifts Longhorns to victory
Three years to the day since Texas coach Shaka Smart told his players that Andrew Jones had been diagnosed with leukemia, the junior guard put his latest stamp on what is turning into a special season for the Longhorns.
Jones hit a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to lift the fourth-ranked Longhorns to a 72-70 victory over No. 14 West Virginia on Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va.
Courtney Ramey drove into the lane among four defenders before tossing the ball to Jones in the right corner for an uncontested shot after West Virginia’s Emmitt Matthews missed two free throws with 11 seconds left.
On Jan. 9, 2018, Smart told his players that Jones had been diagnosed with leukemia. Jones missed most of the next two seasons and completed his cancer treatments in September 2019.
On Saturday, Jones went over the 1,000-point mark for his career, joined Smart and his teammates in a postgame locker room dance, then got on Twitter to thank God “for even allowing me to be here and play the game that I love.”
He also thanked his teammates and supporters. “Let’s keep it going,” Jones wrote.
Ramey scored 19 points for Texas (10-1, 4-0 Big 12), which had to come from nine points down in the second half. Jones finished with 16 points.
No. 2 Baylor 67, at Texas Christian 49:
Jared Butler scored a season-high 28 points and the Bears stayed undefeated with another another double-digit win even after trailing at halftime for the first time this season.
MaCio Teague added 12 points and Davion Mitchell had 10 for Baylor (11-0, 4-0 Big 12).
Ohio State 79, at No. 15 Rutgers 68: Duane Washington Jr. scored 17 points and the Buckeyes closed the first half with a big run to beat the Scarlet Knights.
Ohio State (9-3, 3-3 Big Ten) used a 22-4 burst to take a 42-30 lead at halftime in sending Rutgers (7-4, 3-4) to its third straight loss.
No. 17 Oregon 79, at Utah 73:
Chris Duarte scored 25 points and Eric Williams Jr. added 19 to lift the Ducks to a victory over the Utes.
LJ Figueroa scored 15 points for Oregon (9-2, 41 Pac-12) before exiting late in the second half with an apparent leg injury. Amauri Hardy added 13.
at No. 21 Duke 79, Wake Forest 68:
Matthew Hurt scored a career-high 26 points to help the Blue Devils beat the Demon Deacons in Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski’s return from a one-game absence because of COVID-19 protocols.
at No. 3 Connecticut 87, Providence 50:
Paige Bueckers scored 23 points and the Huskies overcame a sluggish start to rout Providence and give coach Geno Auriemma his 1,098th win, tying the late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt for the second-most wins in Division I women’s basketball history behind Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer (1,104).