The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Mahoney, Ballock lead Creighton past No. 8 Villanova
PHILADELPHIA >> Creighton did what no other Big East team has been able to do in nearly two years — beat Villanova on its home court.
Denzel Mahoney had 21 points and Mitch Ballock had nine of his 15 points in the second half to help Creighton top the No. 8 Wildcats 76-61 on Saturday.
Ty-Shon Alexander added 16 points and Marcus Zegarowski scored 13 for the Bluejays (17-5, 6-3 Big East), who have won four in a row and avenged a 64-59 home defeat to the Wildcats on Jan. 7.
It was Villanova’s first home loss in the Big East since St. John’s defeated the Wildcats on Feb. 7, 2018, snapping a 16-game home conference winning streak.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “There’s nobody we respect more than Villanova. It’s a heck of a win for our program because of how good Villanova is.”
Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore each had 18 points for Villanova (17-4, 7-2), which had won seven in a row.
“Creighton deserves a lot of credit,” Wildcats coach Jay Wright said. “They came in here and played a better basketball game. We weren’t that bad; they just played a better all-around game. They did a great job defensively, hit big shots and handled our pressure.”
Villanova trailed by as many as 17 points in the opening half and slowly cut into Creighton’s 12-point halftime lead. The Wildcats got within three, 46-43, on Moore’s 3-pointer with 12:06 to play and again on Gillespie’s layup with 10:22 left that made it 51-48.
But the Wildcats wouldn’t get any closer.
NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 77, NC STATE
Creighton’s Damien Jefferson (23) goes up for a shot against Villanova’s Cole Swider (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday in Philadelphia.
57>> Ryan McMahon made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points, helping sixth-ranked Louisville beat North Carolina State 77-57 on Saturday.
Jordan Nwora added 14 points for the Cardinals, who maintained their hold on the Atlantic Coast Conference lead with their eighth straight win. Louisville (193, 10-1) led by 17 points late in the first half, and then responded to an N.C. State run midway through the second half by pushing the margin right back out to 15 points.
McMahon got things going by hitting his first six shots — all 3s — in the first half. The Cardinals finally asserted control once they stopped committing fouls and turnovers after having 10 of each by roughly midway through the opening 20 minutes.
Louisville shot nearly 54% in the first half to lead 41-26 at the break, and finished at 51%. The Cardinals went 11 for 20 from long range on the day after making nearly 44% of their 3s through the previous
eight games.
C.J. Bryce scored 15 points for the Wolfpack (148, 5-6), a welcome return to form after the team’s onetime leading scorer had gone scoreless on 0-for-12 shooting during the previous two games. Devon Daniels added 12 points, but the Wolfpack shot 33% and made 5 of 23 3-pointers to lose for the third straight game.
WISCONSIN 64, NO. 14 MICHIGAN STATE 63 >> Nate Reuvers scored 15 points, D’Mitrik Trice had 14 and Aleem Ford added 13 to help Wisconsin edge No. 14 Michigan State 64-63 on Saturday.
Wisconsin earned the victory despite missing guard Brad Davison because of a suspension. The Badgers also lost Kobe King, the team’s secondleading scorer, when he announced this week that he intended to transfer.
The Badgers (13-9, 6-5 Big Ten) shot 57.7% from the field in the first half and had 12 points in the paint before halftime.
Trice had six rebounds and five assists for the Badgers, who snapped a twogame losing streak.
Cassius Winston scored a game-high 23 points and Rocket Watts had 16 for Michigan State (16-6, 8-3), which has lost three of its last four Big Ten road games.
The Spartans fought back after a sluggish first half with a 17-2 run. Winston scored seven points during that second-half stretch. The standout guard’s jumper with 11:22 to go pulled Michigan State within three points at 50-47
Davison, who had 21 starts this season, did not play due to a suspension for a flagrant foul he committed late in the Badgers’ loss at Iowa.
Reuvers banked in a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 26-11 with 7:33 to go in the first half. PROVIDENCE 65, NO. 16 BUTLER 61 >> Luwane Pipkins scored 22 points and made six consecutive free throws in the final minute Saturday to help Providence hold on for a 65-61 victory over No. 16 Butler.
The Friars (12-10, 5-4 Big East) snapped a three-game losing streak by beating a ranked team for the first time since March 19, 2018. It was also their first road win over a team in the AP Top 25 since Feb. 22, 2017.
Kamar Baldwin finished with 14 points and Justin Tucker had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (17-5, 5-4). Butler has lost two of its last three home games.
The Friars made a lineup change to slow down Butler and it worked perfectly. Defensively, Providence jammed up the middle and still had enough speed on the perimeter to prevent Butler’s shooters from getting many open looks.
After going 5 of 17 from the field and committing 10 turnovers in the first half, Butler charged back from an eight-point second-half deficit to take a 43-41 lead with 12:02 to play.
NO. 22 LSU 73, MISSISSIPPI 63 >> Javonte Smart scored 13 of his season-high 21 points in the last 16 minutes, and No. 22 LSU extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 73-63 victory over struggling Mississippi on Saturday.
Marlon Tayor had 13 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Trnedon Watford scored 13 points for LSU (174, 8-0 SEC), which is off to its best start in conference play in 39 years.
Devontae Shuler scored a career-high 28 for Ole Miss (10-11, 1-7), which lost two straight and eight of its last nine.
These teams met two weeks earlier in Oxford, with the Tigers pulling out a four-point victory in which Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree scored a career-high 36 points.
LSU looked determined not let the rematch come down to tense final few minutes, breaking the game open with an early 25-2 run for a 32-11 lead. The Tigers opened up a 24-point advantage when Watford scored his 11th point on a free throw that made it 4016 in the final minute of the half before Ole Miss cut it to 40-20 at the break.
However, Ole Miss rallied back within single digits by scoring the first 12 points of the second half, which amounted to a 16-0 run that made it 40-32.
The game leveled off after that, however, thanks in large part to Smart, who helped LSU gradually rebuild its lead to 21 with just less than seven minutes to go. Smarts highlights included a crafty baseline inbound pass to himself off the back of Mississippi’s Carlos Curry, who then fould Smart on his layup. Smart completed the 3-point play, which put LSU ahead 50-38.