Williams leads Purdue past Penn St.
No. 3 Purdue 74, Penn State 67: Trevion Williams, coming off the bench for the first time in five games, scored 21 points including the final go-ahead basket, and Purdue (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten) held off host Penn State (7-6, 2-3) on Saturday.
The 6-foot-11 Williams was 9-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds despite sitting out over eight minutes of the second half after picking up his third foul.
When he did return with eight minutes remaining he scored 10 points including a bucket that restored the Boilermakers’ lead after Greg Lee’s 3-pointer had given Penn State its first edge since late in the first half.
Williams added a three-point play with a minute left for a five-point lead and the Nittany Lions missed a pair of 3-pointers.
Penn State, which was only 1 of 5 from the arc in the first half and missed its first four 3-point attempts in the second, finally found its range hitting seven 3s in the final 12 minutes with the last being Lee’s go-ahead shot.
Mason Gillis added 14 points, Sasha Stefanovic 13 and Jaden Ivey 12 for Purdue.
Jalen Pickett scored 21 points with 10 assists for Penn State. Lee added 11 points and Seth Lundy and John Harrar 10 each.
Leading by five at halftime, Purdue built a 13-point lead after a Stefanovic 3pointer with 12 minutes to go.
Penn State’s largest lead was seven points, coming after a 9-0 run midway through the first half. Purdue responded with its own 9-0 run and the rest of the half remained tight with the Boilermakers leading 35-30 at halftime.
The teams’ statistical performances were evenly matched though Purdue’s had an advantage in points off turnovers (16-9) and points in the paint (36-28). It has won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Penn State.
No. 12 Houston 76, Wichita State 66: Josh Carlton had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead host Houston (14-2, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) over Wichita State (9-5, 0-2).
Carlton, who scored a career-high 30 points to go with 11 rebounds in a win Wednesday at South Florida, was eight of 12 from the field. He also blocked four shots.
Taze Moore scored 17 points, Fabian White Jr. added 15 and Jamal Shead had 10 points and seven assists for the Cougars. Houston won its sixth straight and extended its home winning streak to 34 games.
Tyson Etienne scored 11 points and Dexter Dennis had 10 for the Shockers.
The Cougars led 36-31 at halftime and made it 65-50 with 8:40 remaining on a layup by Carlton. Wichita State responded with a 9-0 run, cutting the lead to six on layup by Ricky Council IV with five minutes left.
Houston then scored five in a row, capped by Carlton’s three-point play.
No. 16 Providence 83, St. John’s 73: Nate Watson had 22 points and 11 rebounds to help host Providence (14-2, 4-1 Big East) rally in the second half and beat St. John’s (9-4, 1-1).
It was the 300th career victory for Friars coach Ed Cooley. He is now 300206 in 11 seasons at Providence and five seasons at Fairfield.
The Friars have won nine of their last 10. Jared Bynum had 18 points, Justin Minaya finished with 13, and Noah Horchler added eight points and 13 rebounds.
It was just the second game for St.
John’s since it had four games over 18 days postponed after multiple players were placed in COVID-19 protocols.
Dylan Addae-wusu led the Red Storm with 20 points and Aaron Wheeler finished with 15. But the Red Storm were just 8 of 17 from the free throw line on the day, compared to 26 of 30 for the Friars.
Providence struggled early, playing its second straight game without senior guard A.J. Reeves as he continues to deal with an injured finger on his nonshooting hand.
The absence of Reeves and his ability to shoot from the outside affected what Providence was able to do in the half court for the second straight game. The
Friars also struggled to share the ball, tallying only two assists on 11 field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
It allowed St. John’s to key on Watson early and close the first half on a 9-3 run to take a 38-35 lead into halftime.
But things changed in the second half after Watson’s primary defender, Joel Soriano, picked up his fourth foul with 19:49 left.
The Red Storm increased their lead to 48-41 early in the second half before Providence outscored them 31-12 over the next 11 minutes to take a 72-60 lead with 4:25 to play.
Watson had 17 in the half.
No. 24 Seton Hall 90, Uconn 87 (OT): Kadary Richmond scored 27 points, including 17 straight for host Seton Hall (11-3, 2-2 Big East) in the second half and then the go-ahead basket in overtime during a win over Connecticut (10-4, 1-2).
Jarden Rhoden had 15 points and six rebounds for Seton Hall. He stole the ball from Tyrese Martin with 2.6 seconds left in OT and Bryce Aiken sealed the win with a pair of free throws, giving him 22 points.
Richmond had only two points in the first half.
The Pirates trailed 54-45 with 16:01 left when the sophomore took over with a scoring spree, capped by a 3-pointer that put them ahead 62-61 with 11:48 to go.
Richmond shot 10 for 13 overall from the field.
Both teams found their rhythm early despite undergoing recent COVID-19 pauses.
Playing for the first time in two weeks, Uconn shot 55 percent overall in the first half.
Adama Sanogo scored 18 points and had 16 rebounds for the Huskies. R.J. Cole added 15 points before fouling out.