COLLEGE BASKETBALL — NO. 10 KENTUCKY FALLS TO RICHMOND,
Richmond could hardly have played worse in the first half Sunday, yet it trailed No. 10 Kentucky by only a few points.
The Spiders pulled confidence from the small deficit and turned that into better execution after halftime, leading to the biggest win away from home in program history.
Blake Francis and Nathan Cayo powered Richmond to its first road victory over an Associated Press top-10 team, rallying in the second half to beat the Wildcats 76-64 in Lexington, Ky.
“You just get to play a team like Kentucky so rarely,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. “So for us to have the opportunity to play them with a great team is great, and we seized that opportunity.
“It’s a tremendous win. Kentucky loses very rarely, they lose out of conference very rarely, so this is a great win.”
The Spiders (2-0) had been 0-25 against top-10 teams and trailed 36-30 just after halftime. Francis and Cayo each finished with 18 points, many coming during a series of small scoring runs that pushed Richmond ahead.
Richmond’s veteran core — 10 upperclassmen, including four graduates — overcame Kentucky’s latest roster makeover featuring seven freshmen and 10 newcomers. The host Wildcats (1-1) started four freshmen along with senior transfer Olivier Sarr, and growing pains showed after a crisp opening rout of Morehead State.
Kentucky committed 11 of its 21 turnovers in the second half, all of which Richmond converted into 22 points after going scoreless before halftime. The Wildcats also didn’t record an assist after posting five before the break, in addition to shooting 31 percent.
B.J. Boston Jr. had 20 points and Sarr 17 for Kentucky.
“It’s a lesson for all of us,” Sarr said. “It’s just the second game of the year. We’ve got to pick our heads up, because we got a whole lot of games coming. … Just learn from our mistakes and move on.”
■ HOKIES UPSET NO. 3
VILLANOVA: At Uncasville, Conn., Keve Aluma scored 22 points, Nahiem Alleyne added 20 and Virginia Tech upset No. 3 Villanova 81-73 in overtime Saturday night.
Tyrece Radford added eight points and 13 rebounds for the Hokies (2-0). They didn’t know they would be playing the nation’s third-ranked team until early Friday morning.
Collin Gillespie scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half for Villanova (2-1). Caleb Daniels added 17 points, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 14.
Virginia Tech took the lead at 64-62 with 1.3 seconds remaining on a traditional threepoint play by Aluma, who scored on a beautiful assist from Cartier Diarra in the lane, and then unintentionally made the free throw. Villanova’s Justin Moore then drew a charge on Justyn Mutts on the inbounds play and Moore’s two foul shots sent the game into overtime tied at 64.
Mutts made up for that mistake by scoring the first five points in extra time and the Hokies never relinquished the lead, outscoring the Wildcats 17-9 in the extra frame.
The Hokies were supposed to face Temple on Saturday, but the Owls were forced to pause team activities for two weeks on Thanksgiving after a positive coronavirus test in the program.
■ BAYLOR STAYS HOT: At Las Vegas, Jared Butler scored 20 points and No. 2 Baylor won again without coach Scott Drew, beating Washington 86-52 on Sunday.
Assistant coach Jerome Tang is directing the Bears with Drew in a 10-day isolation period after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Bears (2-0) stayed hot after scorching LouisianaLafayette on Saturday behind 56.3 percent shooting, by hitting 34 of 67 (50.7 percent) from the floor. They shot 44.8 percent (13 for 29) from 3point range.
Adam Flagler added 17 points, MaCio Teague had 15 points, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Mark Vital had eight points and 15 rebounds.
RaeQuan Battle led Washington with 10 points in its opener. Erik Stevenson and Jamal Bey each had eight.