Syracuse’s late Battle cry sinks Miami
CORAL GABLES — Tyus Battle overcame a poor shooting game by scoring six points in the final 86 seconds, and the Syracuse Orange’s stingy zone helped them beat Miami, 62-55.
Syracuse limited the Hurricanes to a season-low 34 percent shooting, and Miami was often forced into bad shots at long range, going 7 for 31 (23 percent) from beyond the arc.
MARYLAND 61, RUTGERS 51: Bruno Fernando had 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Maryland kept Rutgers winless on the road. A 10-0 burst by Rutgers cut the gap to 55-46 with four minutes left, but the Terrapins easily thwarted the comeback bid.
WAGNER 78, LIU BROOKLYN 74: JoJo Cooper scored 18 points with six assists, Nigel Jackson added 15 points, and Wagner beat LIU Brooklyn to clinch the
CINCINNATI — Mikal Bridges led an early 3-point shooting spurt that put No. 3 Villanova in control, and the Wildcats showed they’re not ready to relinquish their reign in the Big East, beating Xavier 95-79 in a showdown for the league lead.
The Wildcats (24-3, 113) have won all four regular-season titles since the league was reconfigured. Xavier (24-4, 12-3) had a chance to take control of the race, but simply wasn’t up to the Wildcats’ level in the biggest game of the season. Now, Xavier’s lead is down to a half game and Villanova has swept the season series.
MICHIGAN STATE 65, NORTHWESTERN 60: Cassius Winston scored 17 points, and No. 2 Michigan State erased a 27-point deficit on Saturday to beat host Northwestern 65-60 and extend its winning streak to 10 games.
Nick Ward added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Miles Bridges hit four free throws in the final minute, and the Spartans (26-3, 14-2 Big Ten) used a huge second half to pull out the win when Northeastern Conference regular season championship and win their 14th straight game on their home court.
COLUMBIA 85, PRINCETON 60: Kyle Castlin scored 22 points in 25 minutes and made four 3-pointers — both career highs — and host Columbia walloped Princeton, ending a threegame slide.
Columbia shot 51 percent (32 of 63) and was even better from they looked like they were headed to a stunning blowout loss.
BAYLOR 59, TEXAS TECH 57: Terry Maston scored 24 points, and host Baylor ended the No. 7 Red Raiders’ seven-game winning streak after the Big 12 leaders lost top scorer Keenan Evans to a foot injury in the first half.
Maston, who finished two points shy of his career high, hit the go-ahead shot with 1:26 remaining
GONZAGA 81, PEPPERDINE 67: Johnathan Williams had 18 points and 12 rebounds and host No. 9 Gonzaga held off last-place Pepperdine to remain in first place in the West Coast Conference.
TEXAS 77, OKLAHOMA 66: Dylan Osetkowski scored 21 points, Texas slowed national scoring leader Trae Young, and the Longhorns beat No. 23 Oklahoma to extend the Sooners’ losing streak to five games. Young, a freshman point guard, scored 26 points on 7 for 21 shooting.
KANSAS 77, WEST VIRGINIA 69: Udoka Azubuike scored 21 points and Devonte’ Graham added 15 to help No. behind the 3-point arc, making 58 percent (14 of 24).
MARIST 69, SAINT PETER’S 51: Ryan Funk sank six 3-pointers and finished with a careerhigh 24 points to lead Marist to a home victory over Saint Peter’s. Funk was 7 for 11 from the field, missing just three shots from behind the arc, and got all four of his free throws.
HOFSTRA 88, DREXEL 76: Justin Wright-Foreman scored 13 Kansas past No. 20 West Virginia in Lawrence. Both teams struggled to create much separation in the first half, neither establishing more than a six-point lead.
GEORGIA 73, TENNESSEE 62: Yante Maten scored 19 points, and host Georgia denied the No. 18 Volunteers an opportunity to pull within a game of the SEC lead.
Tennessee (19-7, 9-5) remained two games behind No. 10 Auburn, the SEC leader, which lost to South Carolina 84-75. The Vols have lost two of their last three.
Lamonte Turner led Tennessee with 14 points. Jordan Bowden had 13, and Admiral Schofield scored 11.
ARKANSAS 94, TEXAS A&M 75: Jaylen Barford scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half to lead Arkansas to its fourth straight win, beating No. 21 Texas A&M.
SOUTH CAROLINA 84, AUBURN 75: Frank Booker scored 19 points, and South Carolina built a 26-point lead before holding on to defeat No. 10 Auburn, ending the Gamecocks’ six-game losing streak. —AP USA TODAY/GETTY 22 of his 32 points in the second half, Eli Pemberton and Rokas Gustys had double-doubles and host Hofstra pulled away in the second half to beat Drexel.
ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN 87, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 74: Rasheem Dunn and Glenn Sanabria combined to score 41 points and St. Francis-Brooklyn rode a strong second half to a win in a key Northeast Conference battle at home. —AP