Castleton lifts Gators past LSU
Colin Castleton scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and host Florida held off LSU 83-79 on Saturday.
Castleton scored Florida's first 15 points of the second half, including a personal 9-0 run that put the Gators up 51-45. He made two free throws and Tre Mann followed with a three-pointer to push the lead to 62-52 at the 12minute mark.
The lead was never more than 10 but was was at 10 on a Mann jumper with 3:15 to go. From there the Gators missed four shots and the Tigers twice made it a one-possession game but Scottie Lewis made 5 of 6 free throws in the last 29 seconds, including the clinchers with 5.9 seconds to go.
Mann scored 19 points, Lewis had 17 and Anthony Duruji 16 with seven rebounds for the Gators (5-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference). Castleton was 7 of 10 from the field and 7 of 7 from the line, where Florida was 20 of 23.
Freshman Cam Thomas scored 28 points for the Tigers (6-2, 1-1), who had their five-game winning streak stopped. Trendon Watford added 21 points with eight rebounds and Javonte Smart 20. LSU shot 41% but made seven threes and went 22 of 25 from the line.
TOP 25
No. 2 Baylor 76, Iowa State 65: Jared Butler scored 21 points to lead four Bears (9-0, 2-0 Big 12) in double figures as they earned their narrowest victory this season. Javan Johnson led Iowa State (2-5, 0-3) with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3 of 5 from three-point range.
No. 8 Texas 84, No. 3 Kansas 59: The host Jayhawks (8-2, 2-1), who hit 16 threes in a 79-65 win over West Virginia on Dec. 22, shot 3 of 23 from beyond the arc in the worst home loss in a Big 12 game in the 18-year Bill Self era. It tied for Kansas’ worst loss in Allen Fieldhouse history.
Oklahoma 75, No. 9 West Virginia 71: Umoja Gibson made eight threepointers and scored a season-high 9 points, and the host Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) recovered after blowing an 18-point halftime lead. Taz Sherman and Jalen Bridges had 19 points each for the Mountaineers (8-3, 1-2).
No. 10 Iowa 77, No. 14 Rutgers 75: Luka Garza had 25 points, 15 in the second half, to lead the visiting Hawkeyes, who benefited from the Scarlet Knights’ free-throw struggles. Rutgers (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) went 4 of 12 against Iowa (9-2, 3-1 Big Ten), which was 18 of 23.
No. 11 Creighton 67, Providence 65: Christian Bishop had a go-ahead dunk with 0.8 seconds left and the visiting Bluejays (8-2, 4-1 Big East) held off a late rally by the Friars (7-4, 3-2).
No. 12 Missouri 81, Arkansas 68: Jeremiah Tilmon had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (7-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) against an undermanned Razorbacks frontcourt. Arkansas (9-1, 1-1) lost its first of the year.
Oklahoma State 82, No. 13 Texas Tech 77 (OT): Bryce Williams scored 15 points in his first start, including a steal and breakaway dunk in overtime for the visiting Cowboys (7-2, 1-2). Mac McClung led Texas Tech (8-3, 1-2) with 21 points.