No. 5 seed Troy survives scare in Sun Belt tourney
Zay Williams scored 15 points and No. 5 seed Troy rallied for a 63-59 victory over No. 13 seed Arkansas State on Thursday in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Pensacola, Florida.
The Trojans (20-12) trailed 51-39 with 8:55 left, but went on a 20-6 tear to take a 59-57 lead on Nelson Phillips’ 3-pointer with 2:40 left.
Troy held on from there as Aamer Muhammad went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final 11 seconds.
The Trojans will face No. 4 seed James Madison in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal on Saturday.
More Sun Belt tournament
South Alabama 68, Appalachian
State 61: Isaiah Moore scored 20 points and No. 8 seed South Alabama (17-15) beat No. 9 Appalachian State (16-16).
Terence Harcum had 17 points for the Mountaineers.
South Alabama will meet top seed Southern Miss in a quarterfinal at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
ACC women’s tournament
No. 18 North Carolina 68, Clemson 58: Alyssa Ustby scored 15 points and added six rebounds as No. 18 North Carolina (21-9), a No. 7 seed, defeated No. 10 seed Clemson in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. North Carolina State 83, Syracuse 58: Jakia Brown-Turner and Camille Hobby scored 16 points apiece and No. 8 seed North Carolina State (20-10) pulled away from No. 9 Syracuse (18-12). Wake Forest 65, Florida State 54: Jewel Spear scored all 19 of her points in the second half to help No. 12 seed Wake Forest (16-15) overcome an 18-point halftime deficit and beat No. 5 seed Florida State (23-9).
Late Wednesday ACC MEN
Notre Dame 88, Pittsburgh 81:
Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame (11-19, 3-16) won longtime coach Mike Brey’s final home
game with a victory over Pittsburgh (21-9, 14-5).
Brey, who is stepping down at season’s end and received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game, improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame’s coach.
Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 for the Panthers. TOP 25 No. 2 Alabama 90, Auburn 85
(OT): Jahvon Quinerly scored 24 points, Brandon Miller made the clinching free throws with six seconds left and Alabama (26-4, 16-1 SEC) rallied from a 17-point deficit before beating archrival Auburn (19-11, 9-8) in overtime in Tuscaloosa.
The Crimson Tide clinched outright their second regular-season SEC title in three years, but continued to live on the edge over a troubling eight days that included courtroom revelations in a capital murder trial.
No. 22 TCU 75, No. 9 Texas 73: Damion Baugh scored a careerhigh 24 points, Emanuel Miller had 20 and TCU (20-10, 9-8 Big 12) held on to beat Texas (22-8, 11-6) in Fort Worth, denying the Longhorns a chance to play for a share of the Big 12 title in their upcoming regular-season finale.
Texas will host third-ranked Kansas (25-5, 13-4) on Saturday. The Jayhawks had already clinched a share of their 21st Big 12 title with a home win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night, and now won’t have to share it. No. 10 Gonzaga 104, Chicago State 65: Drew Timme scored 17 points in what’s expected to be his final home game at Gonzaga (26-5), and the Bulldogs trounced Chicago State in a postseason tune-up.
Fellow senior Rasir Bolton, a former Catholic High guard, added 15 points for the Zags, who won their seventh straight.
No. 11 Kansas State 85, Oklahoma 69: Desi Sills flirted with a triple-double in his Bramlage Coliseum farewell, Norfolk native Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell also had big senior sendoffs and Kansas State (23-7, 11-6 Big 12) held on to beat Oklahoma (14-16, 4-13).
Sills finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Johnson had 16 points and Nowell added 11 points and 10 assists, helping the Wildcats snap a three-game skid against the Sooners.
Adama No. 14 Sanogo UConn scored 88, DePaul 26 points 59: to lead five UConn players in double figures, and the Huskies (23-7, 12-7 Big East) closed out their home schedule in emphatic style with a win over skidding DePaul (9-21, 3-16). No. 19 Xavier 94, No. 20 Providence 89: Souley Boum scored a season-high 33 points and Colby Jones added 29 to help visiting Xavier (22-8, 14-5 Big East) beat Providence (21-9, 13-6) and clinch the second seed in the Big East Tournament. Ohio State 73, No. 21 Maryland 62: Felix Okpara had 12 points and 12 rebounds to help Ohio State (13-17, 5-14 Big Ten) finish its home schedule with a win over Maryland (20-10, 11-8). Vanderbilt 68, No. 23 Kentucky
66: Jordan Wright hit a go-ahead fall-away jumper in the lane with 2.6 seconds remaining to finish with 23 points, and Vanderbilt (17-13, 10-7 SEC) topped Kentucky (11-6, 20-10) for its first win at Rupp Arena since January 2007. STATE Saint Joseph’s 83, Richmond 67:
Erik Reynolds II tied a career-high with 33 points and Saint Joseph’s (14-16, 8-10 Atlantic 10) beat Richmond (14-16, 7-10) in Philadelphia. Marcus Randolph finished with 15 points and six assists for the Spiders. George Mason 64, Fordham 58 (OT): Josh Oduro scored 17 points and Ronald Polite had eight in overtime as George Mason (18-12, 10-7 Atlantic 10) took down Fordham (23-7, 11-6) in Fairfax. SUN BELT WOMEN”S TOURNAMENT Appalachian State 51, Louisiana 38: Emily Carver and Janay Sanders scored 12 points each as No. 10 seed Appalachian State (11-19) knocked off the No. 7 Ragin’ Cajuns (16-15). The Mountaineers will face No. 2 seed Texas State in today’s quarterfinals.