Diakite, No. 7 Virginia stop Vermont’s Lamb show
Mamadi Diakite and No. 7 Virginia found themselves in a nail-biter, and with Anthony Lamb putting on an offensive show in the second half, Diakite took it upon himself to try to slow down the Vermont star.
Diakite also scored 19 points and the Cavaliers overcame Lamb’s 30-point performance to beat Vermont 61-55 on Tuesday night.
“It reminded me of last year when we played against Purdue — Carsen Edwards hitting again and again and again,” Diakite said, recalling Virginia’s Elite Eight overtime victory in the NCAA tournament when Edwards scored 42 points.
“One of those days when everything falls in. At the end, I wanted to take the challenge and I responded to it I thought,” Diakite said.
Lamb scored 25 points after halftime and hit seven three-pointers in all, but didn’t score for the last 51⁄2 minutes.
The Cavaliers, meantime, had to overcome their own offensive struggles with their trademark — defense. Virginia turned Vermont’s 13 turnovers into 20 points.
at No. 4 Kansas 75, East Tennessee State 63: Udoka Azubuike pounded home 21 points, Devon Dotson added 19 and Kansas weathered East Tennessee State’s second-half charge to escape. Marcus Garrett added 13 points for the Jayhawks, who led by as many as 18 early in the game.
at No. 6 Maryland 74, Fairfield 55: Jalen Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Maryland used depth and balance to wear down Fairfield. The Terrapins took the lead for good at 9-8, increased the margin to 14 at halftime and cruised to the finish. Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 12 points to pass James Gist and move into the top 20 on Maryland’s career scoring list with 1,424 points.
at No. 8 Gonzaga 72, Texas Arlington 66: Ryan
Woolridge had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Gonzaga held off Texas Arlington. Killian Tillie played for the first time this season and added 15 points and eight rebounds for Gonzaga, which has won 26 consecutive home games.
at No. 25 Washington 72, Maine 53: Isaiah Stewart scored 16 points, Quade Green added 11 points on five-for-five shooting, and the Huskies rebounded from their first loss, a 75-62 defeat to No. 20 Tennessee.