Dana Evans’ 29 points lead No. 2 Louisville past UT Martin 96-61
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dana Evans shrugged off a season-low scoring performance in her previous game because it gave her Louisville teammates a chance to shine.
The Cardinals guard maintained that team-first approach on Tuesday while adding a brilliant individual effort. Evans scored 22 of her career-high 29 points in the first half to spur No. 2 Louisville to a 96-61 rout of UT Martin.
The teams were meeting for the second time in less than a month — a replacement for a postponed Louisville-North Carolina game.
The Cardinals (8-0) outscored the Skyhawks (2-3) 28-11 in the second quarter to lead 49-24 at halftime. Evans, who scored 25 points against UT Martin last month, made six 3-pointers to finish 10 of 12 from the field. She topped her previous best of 28 points against Oklahoma State on Nov. 29, 2019.
In her previous game, Evans scored 11 points in 17 minutes, missing all three attempts from behind the arc. It didn’t matter as Louisville emptied its bench in a 97-46 rout of crosstown Bellarmine.
This time, Louisville coach Jeff Walz made sure Evans had the ball early and often.
“She really let the game come to her in the first half,” Walz said. “When someone’s shooting as well as she was, we’ve got to do everything we can to find them in transition, to get them an open shot, create one for them.”
The All-American guard matched her previous game in the first 5 1/2 minutes alone as she scored 11 of Louisville’s first 15 points to put Louisville ahead 15-9. The Cardinals made of 10 of 20 shots in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.
MEN’S AP TOP 25
NO. 4 TEXAS 78, IOWA ST. 72
AUSTIN, Texas — Andrew Jones scored a career-high 23 points and Texas held off Iowa State to continue its torrid start to the season.
Texas (9-1, 3-0 Big 12) led by as much as 15 early in the second half and appeared to be cruising to an easy win over an Iowa State team that is still winless in conference play. But the Cyclones (2-6, 0-4) kept chipping away and made it tough for Texas at the end.
Jones’ driving baseline layup with 2:40 to play gave Texas a 72-63 cushion. The Cyclones got within 75-70 when Javan Johnson converted a three-point play with 28 seconds left, but the Longhorns closed it out from the free-throw line.
MISSISSIPPI ST. 78, NO. 13 MISSOURI 63
STARKVILLE, Miss. — DJ Stewart scored 24 points and Mississippi State overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to roll past Missouri.
Mississippi State trailed by 14 points early in the second half before taking the lead with a 15-0 run and then pulling away with a 21-4 burst.
Iverson Molinar added 20 points for the Bulldogs (7-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference). Tolu Smith had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Jeremiah Tilmon led Missouri (72, 1-2) with 16 points. Xavier Pinson scored 13 points and Dru Smith had 11.
Mississippi State trailed 43-29 early in the second half before Stewart’s jumper with 13:07 remaining capped the 15-0 run and put the Bulldogs ahead by one. The Tigers pushed back ahead 50-48, but a three-point play from Stewart gave Mississippi State the lead for good and the Bulldogs quickly stretched the advantage to 69-54.
NO. 23 MICHIGAN ST. 68, NO. 15 RUTGERS 45
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Aaron Henry had 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, helping Michigan State pull away to beat Rutgers.
The Spartans (8-3, 2-3 Big Ten) had a 17-point scoring edge in the second half to win a second straight game after opening conference play with three straight losses.
The Scarlet Knights (7-3, 3-3) made just 31% of their shots. They started 0 of 7 at the foul line and finished making just 3 of 12 free throws.
Ron Harper Jr. had 13 points and Jacob Young scored 11 for Rutgers.
NO. 18 TEXAS TECH 82, KANSAS ST. 71
LUBBOCK, Texas — Terrence Shannon Jr. beat the first-half buzzer with a jumper on his way to 22 points, Mac McClung added 16 and Texas Tech beat Kansas State.
Marcus Santos-Silva scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half as the Red Raiders (9-3, 2-2 Big 12) picked up their first conference home victory after losing two and beat the Wildcats in Lubbock for the seventh straight time.
Nigel Pack, one of three freshmen making a seventh straight start for Kansas State (5-7, 1-3), scored 15 of his season-high 17 points in the first half. Fellow freshman Selton Miguel matched his season high with 17 points.
NO. 19 CLEMSON 74, NC ST. 70, OT
CLEMSON, S.C. — Aamir Simms hit a go-ahead basket for a second straight game as Clemson rallied from nine-points down in the second half to beat North Carolina State in overtime.
Nick Honor had 21 points and tied things at 62 with 38 seconds left in regulation to set up the extra period.
North Carolina State (6-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) took its last lead on DJ Funderburk’s 3-pointer with 3:12 to go in OT. That’s when Simms got the ball down low for a basket to put Clemson (9-1, 3-1) ahead for good.
Simms, just 3-of-11 shooting for eight points in the game, added another bucket before Honor sliced through the lane for a layup that gave the Tigers a 72-68 lead.
Devon Daniels drew the Wolfpack within two points with a pair of free throws. But Clemson put things away on freshman PJ Hall’s inside shot that bounced off the rim before falling through with 10.8 seconds left.
Simms hit the winner last Saturday with 19 seconds to go in Clemson’s 66-65 win at Miami last Saturday that returned the Tigers to the national rankings.