SPIGHT HAS 27 POINTS AS UNC WHIPS DENVER

GREELEY» Andre Spight had seven 3-pointers and 27 points, Anthony Johnson scored 23 points with five 3s as Northern Colorado rolled to an 83-63 win over the Denver Pioneers on Wednesday night.

Spight had five 3-pointers, the last a half-court buzzer-beater than gave him 18 points and the Bears (8-3) a 45-22 lead at the half. The Pioneers (5-6) made the first basket of the second half but Spight quickly answered to double up the score at 48-24.

Denver then put together a 9-1 run to get within 16 but moments later Spight’s last 3-pointer and two from Johnson in an 11-0 run made it 63-36 with 13:06 left to play.

Jordan Davis had 13 points for Northern Colorado, which shot 51 percent from the field (28 of 55). The Bears went 16 of 38 behind the arc, one game after making a season-high 18.

Joe Rosga led Denver with 14 points. The Pioneers shot 43 percent (24-of-56) after going 15-of-30 in the second half with four of their five 3s. They had 15 of their 18 turnovers in the first half with the Bears turning those into 25 points. Jalen Brunson had 22 of his career-high 31 points in No. 1 Villanova’s

dominating first half and Omari Spellman scored 27 to help lead the Wildcats to an 8767 rout of Temple. Donte DiVincenzo added 12 points for Villanova (11-0), which won its unprecedented 22nd straight Big 5 game. The Wildcats last lost a contest in the Philadelphia round-robin series to Temple on Dec. 5, 2012. The Big 5 also consists of La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Penn. … Tyler Davis recorded a double-double before halftime and No. 9 Texas A&M put seven players in double figures while rolling over Savannah State 113-66. D.J. Hogg led the balanced scoring for the Aggies (9-1) with 18 points. Davis overpowered the smaller Tigers (3-8) near the basket, finishing with 17 rebounds and 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. A&M produced its highest point total since the 1989-90 season, connecting on a school-record 16 3-pointers in 38 attempts. … Keenan Evans scored 16 points and No. 24 Texas Tech defeated Kennesaw State 82-53 for its first win as a ranked team in eight years.

FOOTNOTE

Louisville files counterclaim.

The University of Louisville has filed a counterclaim to former men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino’s lawsuit and is seeking monetary damages from vacated games and bonuses.