St. John’s falls on late layup
Koby McEwen made a layup with 27 seconds remaining and Theo John had a big block in the closing seconds to lead Marquette to a 73-71 win over St. John’s on Saturday.
After McEwen’s drive down the left side of the lane, John swatted Vince Cole’s drive. The Red Storm got the ball back but a desperation 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.
D.J. Carton posted 14 points to lead the Golden Eagles (8-6, 4-4 Big East Conference). Greg Elliott and Justin Lewis added 13 points with Lewis grabbing and seven rebounds. Dawson Garcia had 11 points.
Julian Champagnie had 20 points for the Red Storm (7-7, 2-6). Greg Williams Jr. added 15 points. Posh Alexander had eight assists and five steals.
BUTLER 60, NO. 8 CREIGHTON
INDIANAPOLIS — Aaron Thompson scored 17 points and found Bryce Nze for the go-ahead layup with 68 seconds left in overtime Saturday to complete Butler’s remarkable second-half comeback.
Creighton scored the first two baskets in overtime, but Butler took over from there, scoring eight straight points over the final 3:07. Nze, who made it 67-66 with his layup, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs also overcame a 71-58 deficit over the final 7 ½ minutes of regulation. Butler (4-7, 3-5 Big East) has won four straight home games against the Bluejays.
Denzel Mahoney scored 23 of his season-high 29 points in the second half to lead Creighton (10-3, 6-2), which had a six-game winning streak snapped.
The Bulldogs opened a 3525 lead when Nze started the second half with a 3-pointer, but they quickly squandered it by missing 14 consecutive shots.
Creighton took full advantage, with Mahoney scoring 12 points during a 16-1 run to give the Bluejays a 41-36 lead. Mahoney’s three-point play with 11:28 left extended the margin to 51-38.
Butler answered with a 17-2 spurt and took a 62-60 lead on Thompson’s layup with 57.4 seconds left in regulation. Mahoney tied it with two free throws and the Bulldogs missed three shots on the final possession.
NO. 23 MINNESOTA 75, NO. 7 MICHIGAN 57
MINNEAPOLIS — Liam Robbins had 22 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes for Minnesota to hand Michigan its first loss.
Marcus Carr scored 17 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 10 points for the Gophers (11-4, 4-4 Big Ten), who played their seventh straight game against an opponent ranked in the Associated Press poll. Minnesota never trailed, holding the best shooting team in the conference to a season-low score and a season-high 20 turnovers.
Chaundee Brown Jr. scored 14 points and Isaiah Livers added 11 points for the Wolverines (11-1, 6-1), who played without senior guard Eli Brooks due to a foot injury suffered in a recent practice.
NO. 21 OHIO STATE 87, NO. 14 ILLINOIS 81
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — E.J. Liddell scored 26 points and Ohio State beat Illinois in a brutal Big Ten matchup.
The game was especially physical in the second half. One technical was called, on Ohio State’s Duane Washington Jr., and the officials had to step in many times to avoid fights.
Washington, Justin Ahrens and Seth Towns each added 11 for Ohio State (11-3, 5-3). The Buckeyes were missing injured guards C.J. Walker and Jimmy Sotos.
Ayo Dosunmu led Illinois (9-5, 5-3) with 22 points. Kofi Cockburn scored 15 and freshman Adam Miller added 14 points for the Illini.
NO. 17 MISSOURI 68, TEXAS A&M 52
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Dru Smith scored 15 points and Missouri shook off rust from an 11-day layoff due to COVID-19 protocols to beat Texas A&M.
Jeremiah Tilmon added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (8-2, 2-2 SEC).
Andre Gordon paced the Aggies (7-5, 2-4) with 19 points.
The Tigers led 27-24 at the half and used a 21-5 run midway through the second half to take control of the game.