Paschall, No. 21 Villanova hold off St. Joe’s

VILLANOVA >> Eric Paschall had 14 points and nine rebounds, and No. 21 Villanova beat Saint Joseph’s 7058 on Saturday for its 25th straight Big 5 victory.

Joe Cremo and Phil Booth scored 12 points apiece as the Wildcats (8-2) continued their dominance of the long-standing city series with Philadelphia rivals Saint Joseph’s, Penn, La Salle and Temple. Jermaine Samuels added 11 points.

Lamarr Kimble led Saint Joseph’s with 22 points. The Hawks were missing Charlie Brown, the top scorer in the Atlantic 10. He sprained his ankle in a win at Princeton on Wednesday.

Trailing 62-40 midway through the second half, the Hawks went on a 16-0 run to make things interesting. But a Booth 3-pointer and a Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree three-point play with 1:05 remaining helped seal Villanova’s sixth straight win.

Fresh off come-from-behind Big 5 victories over La Salle and Temple, Villanova began to pull away from Saint Joseph’s late in the first half, taking a 3828 lead into halftime on the strength of four 3-pointers from Cremo and two from Paschall, including one in the final minute.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 48-31 three minutes into the second half after back-to-back buckets from freshman Cole Swider capped a 10-0 run. Swider scored all eight of his points in the second half.

The Wildcats, whose last loss in the city series came on Dec. 5, 2012, to Temple, can complete their sixth straight perfect 4-0 Big 5 season vs. Penn on Tuesday at the Palestra.

NO. 5 MICHIGAN 89, SOUTH CAROLINA 78 >> Jordan Poole scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, and No. 5 Michigan remained unbeaten with an 89-78 victory over South Carolina on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (4-5) scored more points than any team all season against Michigan. But the Wolverines (10-0) were ahead by six at halftime, and they led comfortably for most of the second half.

Iggy Brazdeikis scored 17 points and Jon Teske added 15 for Michigan. Chris Silva led South Carolina with 18.

Poole went to work in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk, putting the Wolverines up 5645. The sophomore guard scored 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the half. SETON HALL 84, NO. 9 KENTUCKY 83, OT >> Myles Cale hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left in overtime and Seton Hall overcame Keldon Johnson’s half-court heave that tied the score at the regulation buzzer.

In one of the most exciting finishes of the season, Johnson had a chance to win it for the Wildcats (72), but his 3-point try with a second remaining was blocked by Quincy McKnight.

Myles Powell scored 25 of his 28 points after halftime for Seton Hall (6-3), including a tiebreaking 3 in the final seconds of the second half at Madison Square Garden.

The clock showed 1.1 seconds after Powell’s jumper went through, but officials put 1.5 on the clock after a replay review. PJ Washington inbounded from the baseline and threw a long pass to an open Johnson. He caught the ball near half court, turned over his left shoulder and hurled a righthanded shot that went in as the buzzer sounded, tying it at 70.

Washington had 29 points and 13 rebounds for Kentucky.

NO. 10 MICHIGAN STATE 63, FLORIDA 59 >> Kyle Ahrens scored Michigan State’s final seven points, including a two-handed jam with 8.7 seconds remaining.

Ahrens barely beat the shot clock with his baseline slam, giving the Spartans the final points in a game the Gators made close thanks mostly to freshman Andrew Nembhard late.

Florida (5-4) cut Michigan State’s lead to 5653 on KeVaughn Allen’s 3-pointer with 3:24 to play, but Ahrens answered from the corner on the other end. Ahrens added a reverse layup on the Spartans’ next possession.

Xavier Tillman led the Spartans (8-2) with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Nembhard and Allen led the Gators with 13 points apiece.