Big finish propels Vols over Bulldogs

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Josiah-Jordan James and Kennedy Chandler each scored 18 points and No. 19 Tennessee outscored Mississippi State 11-2 in the final three minutes for a 72-63 victory on Wednesday night.

The second half went back and forth and was tied at 61 before the Volunteers (17-6, 8-3 SEC) closed strong for their sixth consecutive league victory. Zakai Zeigler iced the win by making all four free throws in the closing seconds to finish with 11 points along with Santiago Vescovi.

Iverson Molinar had 16 points for the Bulldogs (14-9, 5-5), who dropped their first SEC home game this season. Garrison Brooks had 15 points and eight rebounds while DJ Jeffries had 13 points.

Tennessee sizzled in the opening minutes, making its first six shots for a 14-2 lead following a three-pointer by Josiah-Jordan James. Mississippi State slowly crept back into the game late in the half with a 10-1 run to lead 2827 lead thanks to a Molinar three-pointer, before the Vols recovered for a 35-33 halftime advantage.

Tennessee finished 49% from the floor after shooting just 41% in the first half. The Vols also made 4 of 6 from deep after halftime to finish 8 of 19. The Volunteers had just three first-half turnovers and held a 17-16 rebounding advantage.

Mississippi State shot 50% overall and made 10 of 13 at the foul line.

In other games involving men’s top 25 teams, Kendric Davis scored 22 points and Marcus Weathers added 20 as SMU rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to stun No. 6 Houston 85-83. Davis sank two free throws with 40.6 seconds remaining to break an 81-all tie. Michael Weathers hit the second of two free throws with 24.1 seconds left for a three-point lead. Houston had a chance to tie in the closing seconds when Kyler Edwards heaved the ball toward the basket from near midcourt with two seconds left and was fouled by Emmanuel Bandoumel. Edwards hit the first free throw but missed the second. Edwards banged his third shot off the front rim and Houston was called for a lane violation. … Umoja Gibson scored a season-high 30 points and Oklahoma defeated No. 9 Texas Tech 70-55. Gibson shot 8 of 11 on three-pointers to help the Sooners (14-10, 4-7 Big 12) stop a three-game skid and halt Texas Tech’s three-game winning streak. … Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting as No. 10 Baylor beat Kansas State 75-60. James Akinjo added 15 points for the balanced Bears (20-4, 8-3 Big 12) and Adam Flagler had 10. They won their seventh consecutive over Kansas State and reached 20 wins for the 13th time in the last 15 years. … Geo Baker had 25 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 18.8 seconds left, and Rutgers scored the final 10 to stun No. 16 Ohio State 66-64. Baker scored eight of the 10 points in the game-ending spurt and assisted on a dunk by Cliff Omoruyi that tied it 64-all with 1:13 to play. … Jared Rhoden scored 25 points to lead Seton Hall past No. 25 Xavier 73-71. Alexis Yetna added 12 points for the Pirates (15-7, 6-6 Big East), who have won three consecutive games. Jack Nunge led the Musketeers (16-7, 6-6) with 22 points, and Paul Scruggs had 21. Xavier has lost two in a row.

SEC MEN

In other games involving SEC teams Wednesday, Myreon Jones made a career-high seven three-pointers and scored 23 points to help Florida beat Georgia 72-63 for its fourth consecutive victory. Florida led by 14 points with 7:52 remaining before Georgia went on a 14-3 run — highlighted by Aaron Cook’s two three-pointers in two minutes — to pull within 64-61 with 2:56 left. After a timeout, Colin Castleton sank a jumper from the free-throw line to restore Florida’s two-possession lead and Georgia had two chances roll off the rim at the other end. Georgia turned it over and Tyree Appleby (Jacksonville) sealed it with a three-pointer late in the possession for a 69-61 lead. Castleton had 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for Florida (16-8, 6-5), which moved above .500 in conference play for the first time this season. Appleby finished with 3 three-pointers and 11 points — all in the second half.

TOP 25 WOMEN

In women’s top 25 games Wednesday night, Lior Garzon scored 19 points and Maddie Siegrist added 17 to lead Villanova to a 72-69 win over No. 8 UConn, ending the Huskies’ 169- game conference winning streak. UConn last lost a conference game back in the old Big East Conference in 2013. Freshman Azzi Fudd had a season-high 29 points for UConn (15-5, 9-1). Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian) added 24 points. … Hannah Jump scored 19 points with five three-pointers, Cameron Brink added 12 points and No. 2 Stanford ran its winning streak to 11 games with an 82-59 victory over Oregon State. … Ali Patberg scored a season-high 26 points to lead No. 7 Indiana to a 93-61 win over Illinois. The Hoosiers hit six of their first seven shots, and Patberg opened the game on a tear, hitting a jumper and a layup early. She nailed a second-chance three-pointer with 2:30 to go in the opening quarter as the Hoosiers raced out to a 24-6 lead. … Queen Egbo had 19 points and 16 rebounds, and three other Baylor players had at least 19 points as the 10th-ranked Bears overwhelmed Kansas State 95-50. … Angel Reese had 19 points and nine rebounds, Chloe Bibby scored 16 points, and No. 15 Maryland beat Wisconsin 70-43 for its sixth consecutive win. … Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 14 points and blocked a potential tying shot with less than 10 seconds to play, Lauren Ebo made two clinching free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining and No. 16 Texas edged Texas Tech 61-56. … Tishara Morehouse scored 13 of her 19 points in the third quarter and No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast beat North Alabama 63-53 for its 15th consecutive victory. Kendall Spray added 13 points, Karli Seay had 12 and Kerstie Phills chipped in 10 for Florida Gulf Coast (22-1, 11-0 ASUN). Seneca Hackley scored all nine of her points in the second half. … Endyia Rogers scored 17 points, Te-Hina Paopao added 14 and No. 24 Oregon rolled past Washington State 83-30 for the largest margin of victory in the 90-game series. Oregon’s previous best against Washington State was a 46-point victory in the 1986-87 season. … Caitlin Clark scored 32 points and No. 25 Iowa scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to pull out an 88-78 win over Minnesota.

ASUN MEN KENNESAW STATE 83, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 72

The University of Central Arkansas men have now lost five of their past six games after a loss at Kennesaw, Ga.

Freshman Camren Hunter had a team-high 20 points for UCA (7-16, 4-6 ASUN). Jared Chatham had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Eddy Kayouloud (15 points) and Darious Hall (10 points), who returned to action for the first time since Jan. 27, were both in double figures.

Kennesaw State (11-13, 6-5) late in the first half. Terrell Burden had a gamehigh 25 points for the Owls.

ASUN WOMEN KENNESAW STATE 66, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 52

The University of Central Arkansas (8-14, 3-8 ASUN) lost its fourth consecutive game Wednesday, falling to Kennesaw State (8-13, 4-6) in the two squads’ first- ever matchup at Kennesaw, Ga.

UCA’s lone bright spot was Lucy Ibeh, who posted her 11th double-double of the season. She finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

The trio of Amani Johnson, Alexis Poole and Ja’Che Whitfield led the way for Kennesaw State, combining for 38 of the Owls’ 66 points.