Clark drives Virginia past Florida State

Villanova, minus Samuels, blows out St John’s

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va, Jan 29, (AP): Kihei Clark was the littlest player on the court, but he made the biggest play.

The 5-foot-9 guard made the goahead layup with 59 seconds left, and Virginia ended No. 5 Florida State’s 10-game winning streak, 61-56, on Tuesday night. Clark drove down the left side of the lane, reached across and banked his shot in on the right side.

Clark said initially, he drove looking for defenders to leave shooters alone for him to pass to. When none did, he seized the opportunity.

The victory was Virginia’s first as an unranked team against a team in the Top 5 since the Cavaliers beat Duke 73-68 on Feb 28, 2013. It also was the second straight for the reigning national champions, who’d lost four of five previously, raising questions about whether they would make the NCAA Tournament.

Mamadi Diakite had 19 points and nine rebounds for Virginia (14-6, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), and Braxled the Tigers with 19 points, and Samir Doughty had 17.

The game was tied at 78 before K.J. Buffen made two layups for Mississippi. But J’Von McCormick’s jumper got Auburn within two with 2:32 remaining.

Rutgers 70, Purdue 63 In Piscataway, NJ, Caleb McConnell scored 16 points, making 12 of 13 free throw attempts, and No. 25 Rutgers nearly blew a 17-point lead before holding off Purdue, 70-63.

Rutgers (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) would build the lead to 44-27, before Purdue (11-10, 4-6) went on a 10-2 run capped by a Jahaad Proctor layup to make it 4637 at 14:12. Purdue would continue to chip away at the lead, getting it to six on a couple of occasions by the under four minute media timeout.

Villanova 79, St John’s 59 In New York, down an experienced starter, the Villanova Wildcats still had more than enough firepower to trounce a St John’s team that’s given them trouble lately.

Saddiq Bey scored 23 points, Collin Gillespie had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 8 Villanova easily handled the Red Storm 79-59 at Madison Square Garden.

Justin Moore, starting for injured forward Jermaine Samuels, added 11 points and fellow freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 13 points and 14 rebounds as the balanced Wildcats (17-3, 7-1 Big East) won their seventh straight and 13th in 14 games. Texas A&M 63, Tennessee 58 In Knoxville, Tenn, Wendell Mitchell scored 23 points to lead Texas A&M to a 63-58 victory over Tennessee.

Mitchell hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock with 48 seconds left to put the Aggies ahead 56-53 and he followed with a pair of free throws on their next possession.

Quenton Jackson added 11 points for the Aggies (10-9, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), and Emanuel Miller pulled down 12 rebounds. Mitchell was 5-of-20 shooting, including 4 of 14 from 3-point range, but he made all nine of his free throws. Texas A&M shot just 30.4% overall but made 22 of 29 free throws.

Cincinnati 65, SMU 43 In Cincinnati, Jarron Cumberland scored a season-high 28 points, and Cincinnati led the whole way during a 65-43 victory over SMU, its seventh straight win over the Mustangs.

The Bearcats (13-7, 6-2 American Athletic) have won five of six with Cumberland leading the way. He had 15 points in the first half, when Cincinnati led by as many as 17 points. Cumberland

finished 9 of 13 from the field, and had team highs with nine rebounds and four assists.

Michigan 79, Nebraska 68 In Lincoln, Neb, Eli Brooks scored 20 points, Franz Wagner added 18 and short-handed Michigan pulled away in the middle of the second half for a 7968 win over Nebraska.

The Wolverines (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) ended a four-game losing streak, their longest since 2014-15, and won on the road for the first time this season.

Miss State 78, Florida 71 In Gainsville, Fla, Reggie Perry scored a career-high 27 points, Robert Woodard added 16 and Mississippi State beat Florida 78-71for its fourth straight victory in Southeastern Conference play.

Tyson Carter chipped in 12, including seven straight points to turn the game in the second half. The Bulldogs (13-7, 4-3) rallied from 16 points down to notch their first road victory of 2020.

Clemson 71, Syracuse 70 In Clemson, SC, Tevin Mack had a carer-high 32 points and Clyde Trapp hit a go-ahead driving layup with 2.5 seconds left as Clemson rallied from 10-points down in the second half to defeat Syracuse 71-70.

Mack, a grad transfer who played at Texas and Alabama before joining the Tigers this year, had 23 points in the second half for Clemson (11-9, 5-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Mack also had a game-best 10 rebounds.

Georgia Tech 82, Morehouse 54 In Atlanta, James Banks III scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots in just 17 minutes of action to lead Georgia Tech to a 82-54 win over Morehouse on a night when the Yellow Jackets were never threatened.

Tech (10-11, 4-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no problems with the Division II program that is located less than two miles from McCamish Pavilion.

Kent State 83, Toledo 70 In Toledo, Ohio, Troy Simons scored 21 points with four assists and four steals and Kent State rallied from 21 points down to beat Toledo 83-70 on for a season sweep of the Rockets.

Antonio Williams scored 21 points with four assists and four steals for the Golden Flashes (15-6, 5-3 Mid-American Conference), who ended the first half with a 16-0 run but trailed 35-32 at halftime.

Buffalo 77, Akron 74 In Akron, Ohio, Gabe Grant buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining then blocked a 3-point try as time was running out, lifting Buffalo to a 77-74 victory over Akron.

The Bulls led 74-67 after Josh Mballa made two free throws with 1:46 to go but did not score again until Grant’s 3-pointer from the left side after Akron’s zone defense had collapsed to the other side of the basket. Akron’s Loren Cristian Jackson took the inbounds pass and drove up the left sideline.

Rutgers players wear T-shirts with Kobe Bryant’s team jersey nos. 8 and 24 on their backs in tribute to Bryant during warmups before an NCAA college basketball game against Purdue on Jan 28 in Piscataway, NJ. Bryant and his daughter Gianna, 13, died in a helicopter crash Sunday in California en

route to Gianna’s basketball practice. (AP)

Rhode Island 78, George Mason 64

In Fairfax, Va, Jeff Dowtin scored 20 points, Tyrese Martin added 18 with 10 rebounds and Rhode Island won its seventh straight Atlantic 10 Conference contest, 78-64 over George Mason.

Fatts Russell scored 15 points with six rebounds and five assists and Antwan Walker had 13 points for the Rams (15-5, 7-1), who held the Patriots to 38% shooting from the floor (26 of 68). Cyril Langevine blocked four shots.

N. Illinois 61, Ohio 59 In Dekalb, Ill, Eugene German scored 18 points, Noah McCarty added a career-high 16, including the gamewinning shot, and Northern Illinois beat Ohio 61-59 on Tuesday night to win its third straight.

Ohio led 57-56 with 2:20 left to play on a layup by Ben Vander Plas before McCarty hit a go-ahead 3-pointer. Vander Plas tied it at 59 with two free throws, then McCarty hit a jumper with 18 seconds left for the final score. The Bobcats’ Ben Roderick missed a shot at the buzzer.

Fresno State 79, Air Force 68 In Air Force Academy, Colo, New Williams scored 25 points and Nate Grimes added 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as Fresno State beat Air Force 79-68.

Jarred Hyder had 10 points for Fresno State (7-14, 3-7 Mountain West Conference). Orlando Robinson added seven rebounds. Williams made six of Fresno State’s 14 3-pointers and the Bulldogs went 15 for 16 from the freethrow line.

Missouri 72, Georgia 69 In Columbia, Mo, Missouri overcame a 20-point deficit in the second half to defeat Georgia 72-69 in Columbia, ending a four-game losing streak.

The Bulldogs (11-9, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) jumped to an early lead, due largely in part to star freshman Anthony Edwards (18 points per game), who scored 14 in the first half alone to put Georgia ahead 42-30 at halftime.

Utah State 68, Wyoming 45 In Laramie, Wyo, Sam Merrill had 14 points as Utah State romped past Wyoming 68-45.

Alphonso Anderson had 13 points for Utah State (17-6, 6-4 Mountain West Conference). Brock Miller added 11 points. Utah State totaled 25 firsthalf points, a season low for the team.

Kwane Marble II had 14 points for the Cowboys (5-17, 0-10), whose losing streak reached eight games. Hunter Maldonado added 14 points. Utah State faces San Diego State on the road on Saturday. Wyoming matches up against San Jose State on the road on Saturday.

BIRMINGHAM, England, Jan 29, (AP): Trezeguet punched the air with both fists and roared with joy as he swayed above a sea of jubilant Aston Villa supporters.

Six months into his time at Villa Park, the Egypt midfielder made himself a firm fans’ favorite by sending the club into a cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Trezeguet scored with a far-post volley in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Villa a 2-1 win over Leicester and a title match in the English League Cup against either Manchester City or Manchester United on March 1. Villa won 3-2 on aggregate.

Having recently seen their team drop into the Premier League’s relegation zone, Villa’s fans savored a rare moment of celebration this season by swarming onto the field after the final whistle.

Naturally, Trezeguet was one of the prime targets of their affection, and he was hoisted onto some supporters’ shoulders.

“We fight until the end,” said the midfielder, who only came on in the 77th minute of a match Leicester dominated – like it did in the first leg that finished 1-1 three weeks ago.

Indeed, Villa advanced having had four shots on target – and scoring from three of them – across the two legs of the semifinal.

The team from central England will look to win the League Cup for a sixth time, and for a first time since 1996. Villa was in the competition’s first final and will now play in its 60th.

“It shows what character we’ve got in the team,” said Villa captain Jack Grealish. “We were in a sticky patch before Christmas – we couldn’t string four passes together, never mind winning (a match).”

Villa’s players were thrashed 6-1 by Man City in the league on Jan 12, four days after somehow holding Leicester to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the semifinal. They are unbeaten in three games since, winning two of them, and a run to the League Cup final might inspire confidence that they can preserve their topflight status.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers lost a cup match for the first time since 2015, having won back-to-back Scottish Cup titles and the Scottish League Cup three years in a row when at Celtic before returning to English soccer in February last year. By that time, Leicester was already out of both of England’s cup competitions last season.

Villa took the lead on the night, and on aggregate, when left back Matt Targett smashed in an angled shot after being teed up by a clever reverse pass from Grealish.

Kelechi Iheanacho equalized, like he did in the first leg, in the 72nd and Leicester looked like the team more likely to go on and win the match.

Then, just as penalties beckoned, Egyptian substitutes combined as Ahmed Elmohamady swung over a cross from the right and Trezeguet made no mistake with his volley.

Trezeguet has been no more than a bit-part player since joining from Turkish club Kasimpasa in the offseason.

Villa had another of its more unheralded players, back-up goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, to thank for keeping Leicester at bay in the first half, especially. One save, when he tipped Youri Tielemans’ shot onto the crossbar, was particularly impressive.

“I thought we were excellent in the game,” Rodgers said. “Their goalkeeper made some outstanding saves.

“It’s tough to take looking back over the two games, but congratulations to Aston Villa and we have to move on.”