Quarterman, Victor lead LSU over No. 9 Kentucky
BATON ROUGE, LA. >> Tim Quarterman had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Craig Victor added 15 points and 12 rebounds, and LSU defeated No. 9 Kentucky 85-67 on Tuesday night.
Ben Simmons added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (9-5, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who never trailed after tying the game at 2 and kept their lead at or near double digits for much of the game to the delight of a packed and energized Pete Maravich assembly Center.
Tyler Ulis had 23 points and Jamal Murray added 21 for Kentucky, (11-3, 1-1), which lost for the third time in seven games and had their 22-game SEC winning streak snapped.
The Wildcats struggled with their shooting early and later were hampered by foul trouble. Starting forwards Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress both fouled out by the time 7:29 remained in the game. MARQUETTE 65, NO. 8 PROVIDENCE64>> Freshman Henry Ellenson had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, swatting away Kris Dunn’s attempted buzzerbeater to lead Marquette to a 65-64 victory over No. 8 Providence on Tuesday night.
Duane Wilson scored on a layup with 31 seconds left to give Marquette (114, 1-2 Big East) the 65-64 lead. The Golden Eagles avoided opening the conference schedule with three straight losses for the first time since joining East in 2005.
Ben Bentil scored 28 points, including 14 straight for the Friars in a key second-half run, and added nine rebounds for Providence (14-2, 2-1), which had won eight straight. Dunn had 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals for the Friars, who had climbed to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1977.
Providence fell behind 7-0 and did not take its first lead until a 16-4 run midway through the second. The Friars led 58-50 with 6 minutes left before giving up eight straight points. NO. 18 BUTLER 77, DEPAUL 72 >> Kellen Dunham snapped out of his shooting slump with 24 points, and No. 18 Butler edged DePaul.
The Bulldogs (12-3, 1-2) put four players in double figures in their first Big East win after consecutive losses to No. 8 Providence and No. 10 Xavier. Andrew Chrabascz added 16 points, Roosevelt Jones scored 15 and Kelan Martin had 12 points, including a posterworthy dunk over DePaul’s Darrick Wood in the second half.
Dunham was 8 for 14 from the field and 4 for 7 3-point range in his return to the starting lineup after coach Chris Holtmann tried using his leading scorer off the bench in Saturday’s 8869 loss to the Musketeers. The senior guard made just 14 of 72 shots over his previous six games. NO. 25 SOUTH CAROLINA 85, AUBURN 69 >> Sindarius Thornwell scored a sea-
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Big son-high 22 points and the 22nd-ranked Gamecocks calmly fought off a secondhalf challenge to beat Auburn in the Gamecocks’ SEC opener.
Sporting their highest AP ranking in 18 years, the Gamecocks (14-0, 1-0) lost most of an 18-point first-half lead before building it back with inside baskets and foul shots. It was just another milestone for a team that’s hoping to sustain this success into March. NO. 19 IOWA 77, NEBRASKA 66 >> Jarrod Uthoff had 25 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as No. 19 Iowa held off Nebraska 77-66 on Tuesday night for its fifth straight win.
Mike Gesell had 22 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double with the surging Hawkeyes (123, 3-0 Big Ten). They have victories in nine consecutive league games dating to last season.