Gonzaga throttles sliding UNC
Corey Kispert scored 26 points, Filip Petrusev added 20 and No. 2 Gonzaga rolled past North Carolina 94-81 on Wednesday night in Spokane, Wash., handing the Tar Heels their fourth straight loss.
One of the most highly anticipated games ever inside Gonzaga’s gym was a party for most of the night for the home team. The Bulldogs (12-1) won their fourth straight since suffering their only loss of the season against Michigan in the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
More importantly, the Zags finished off an unbeaten stretch of three marquee games at Washington, at Arizona and against the Tar Heels.
Garrison Brooks led North Carolina (6-5) with 16 points, but the Tar Heels have dropped four straight for the first time since the 2009-10 season. It’s been a brutal stretch for the Tar Heels with the Zags the fifth opponent ranked in the top 10 in North Carolina’s past six games.
Then there’s the injuries. North Carolina learned Monday it would be without star point guard Cole Anthony for four-to-six weeks following surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee. Anthony sat during Sunday’s loss to Wofford as did guard Leaky Black. Black returned Wednesday and had six points in nine minutes.
North Carolina also played the second half without Brandon Robinson, who was feeling ill. He played 16 minutes of the first half and didn’t score.
Having Anthony and a completely healthy roster might not have mattered.
Kispert and the Zags were ready from the start to put on a show for maybe the toughest ticket in school history. Kispert was nearly perfect in the first half, hitting 6 of 8 shots including a trio of 3-pointers. It was his fourth straight game in double-figures after being quieted by Michigan.
Kispert made 10 of 12 shots overall, at one point during the second half turning with his hands out and a slight shrug after knocking down his fifth 3-pointer.
Gonzaga shot 59% and five players in double figures. Joel Ayayi, Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder all finished with 11 points.
Big run propels Louisville: Jordan Nwora scored 20 points as No. 3 Louisville pulled away with a 17-0 run to beat Miami of Ohio 70-46.
Ryan McMahon added 11 points for the Cardinals (11-1), and Dwayne Sutton tied a career-high with 15 rebounds.
Mekhi Lairy led the Redhawks (5-6) with 10 points.
While the Cardinals never trailed, it was much closer than the final score indicated. Louisville used a 14-2 first-half run to take a 12-point lead, but the Redhawks cut it to 28-25 on Dalonte Brown’s dunk 1:10 into the second half.
Miami trailed just 44-40 with 9:02 left after Josh Brewer’s 3pointer. The Cardinals used the 17-0 run over the next 5:17 to finally put away the pesky Redhawks.
Volunteers stumble: Trevon Scott scored 15 points and host Cincinnati recovered from backto-back losses by knocking off No. 21 Tennessee 78-66.
The Bearcats (7-4) got the better of a back-and-forth game by getting inside one of the country’s stingiest defenses for close-up baskets. Forty-six of Cincinnati’s points came in the paint.
Keith Williams had a steal and layup during a 9-0 run that put the Bearcats in control 67-57 with 3:27 left. Williams finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
For a second straight game, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes came up short again in his attempt to get career victory No. 700. He’d be only the 22nd coach to reach that mark in Division I.
The Volunteers (7-3) were coming off a 51-47 loss to No. 13 Memphis that highlighted their offensive shortcomings. Tennessee has lost back-to-back games for the first time in two seasons. John Fulkerson had a team-high 14 points. The Volunteers were 3 of 15 from beyond the arc.