Wake Forest rally flusters Louisville
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — John Collins had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help Wake Forest rally from 14 poins down to upset No. 8 Louisville 88-81 on Wednesday night.
Keyshawn Woods added 20 points for the Demon Deacons (17-12, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), who came into the game desperately needing a big victory to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume.
They got it, with Dinos Mitoglou and Mitchell Wilbekin hitting huge back-toback three-pointers in the final 3 minutes to turn a 75-72 lead into a nine-point margin.
Wake Forest is trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
Deng Adel scored 22 points for the Cardinals (23-7, 11-6), who got off to a fast start but shot just 39 percent after halftime. They also struggled to slow the Demon Deacons once their offense got rolling, with Wake Forest shooting 46 percent and making 10 of 24 three-pointers.
This one ended with Wake Forest fans storming the court to celebrate.
Collins, a sophomore who has made himself a candidate for ACC player of the year, finished 7 of 12 from the field and 11 of 12 from the foul line to earn his 12th consecutive 20-point performance.
Wake Forest trailed 41-30 late in the first half but used a 20-4 run spanning halftime to take its first lead — and eventually pushed it to 11. Louisville got as close as three before Mitoglou and Wilbekin’s huge threes.
NO. 19 NOTRE DAME 82, BOSTON COLLEGE 66
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — V. J. Beachem scored 22 points o lead No. 19 Notre Dame to its sixth consecutive victory, this one over Boston College.
Bonzie Colson added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Irish (237, 12-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have all but locked up a topfour finish in the ACC and a double-bye for next week’s conference tournament.
Colson’s double-double was his ACC-best 18th of the season.
Ky Bowman scored 19 points and Mo Jeffers had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Boston College (9-21, 2-15 ACC), which has lost 13 in a row and 15 of 16, including a Feb. 14 home game against Notre Dame in which the Eagles let a 10-point lead slip away in the second half.
The Irish again got off to a slow start against BC, falling behind by seven in the first half before ripping off 15 consecutive points. Beachem made two three-pointers during the run and Boston College went over 6 minutes without a field goal.
Beachem had 15 points as the Irish took a 36-28 lead.
Matt Farrell and Rex Pflueger hit consecutive three-pointers to cap a 10-2 run that extended the Irish lead to 16 points with 11:31 to play. Farrell finished with 14 points.
SEC MEN GEORGIA 79, AUBURN 78
ATHENS, Ga. — J.J. Frazier had 31 points after being held scoreless in the first 11 minutes and Georgia overcame a 16-point deficit to beat Auburn and extend its late-season surge.
Georgia (18-12, 9-8 SEC) has won three consecutive and five of six to keep alive its hopes for NCAA Tournament consideration. Derek Ogbeide had 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Jared Harper missed a last-second three-pointer for Auburn (17-12, 6-10 SEC), which led 28-12 in the first half.
Bryce Brown led the Tigers with 15 points. Mustapha Heron had 13.
Two free throws by Frazier gave Georgia a 79-73 lead. Auburn’s Danjel Purifoy, who had 12 points, sank a three-pointer and had two free throws about 30 seconds later to cut the lead to one point.
Purifoy’s steal of a pass by Frazier gave Auburn a chance with less than 10 seconds remaining before Harper’s last-second miss.
LSU 92, TENNESSEE 82
BATON ROUGE — Brandon Sampson scored 24 points and Jalyn Patterson added 22 as LSU ended its school-record 15-game losing streak with a victory against Tennessee.
Sampson matched his career high when he scored 16 points in the second half when the Tigers (10-19, 2-15) outscored the Vols 50-36. Patterson’s 22 points were his career-high. He scored 12 points in the second half.
LSU used an 11-0 run early in the second half to take control of the game. Sampson scored five points and Aaron Epps contributed four points during the stretch. A basket by Epps put the Tigers in front 60-51 with 14:28 remaining in the game.
Epps and Duop Reath each scored 10 points for LSU, which won its first conference home game of the season. The Tigers made 50 percent of their field goal attempts, including 47 percent on three-pointers.
Grant Williams and Shembari Phillips each had 16 points for Tennessee (15-15, 7-10). Lamonte Turner scored 14 points. The Vols made only nine field goals in the second half.
ALABAMA 70, MISSISSIPPI 55
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dazon Ingram scored a season-high 22 points and Braxton Key added 19 to lead Alabama to a victory over Mississippi.
The Crimson Tide (17-12, 10-7 SEC) rebounded from two close losses to cool off the Rebels (18-12, 9-8). Ole Miss had been averaging 86.6 points over its last five games, making a late push toward earning an NCAA Tournament bid.
Ingram was 9 of 10 from the floor with two three-pointers. Key made 7 of 11 shots and also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Bola Olaniyan had 10 rebounds for the Tide.
Breein Tyree led Ole Miss with 14 points. Terence Davis had 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Sebastian Saiz had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and also collected 9 rebounds.
Coming off a 28-point effort against Missouri, Deandre Burnett was held to two points and missed all seven of his attempts from the floor.