Mason powers Rice to win on road Rice goes cold in 4th in loss to FAU
SAN ANTONIO — Mekhi Mason scored 30 points as Rice held on to beat UTSA 80-76.
Mason was 11-of-19 shooting, including 3for-7 from 3-point range, and made five of his seven attempts from the free-throw line for the Owls (9-13, 3-6 American Athletic Conference). Travis Evee scored 18 points while going 6-of-14 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
Jordan Ivy-Curry came off the bench to lead the Roadrunners (8-14, 2-7) in scoring, finishing with 19 points.
Mason put up 13 points in the first half for Rice, who led 39-28 at the break.
TSU 80
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 69
PJ Henry had 26 points in the Tigers’ road victory against the Panthers.
Henry also contributed four steals for TSU (8-12, 6-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Jonathan Cisse scored 25 points and added six rebounds. Chris Craig went 3-of-4 from the field to finish with nine points.
Charles Smith IV finished with 23 points for Prairie View A&M (8-13, 3-5). Javontae Hopkins added 16 points for the Panthers.
CINCINNATI 75
NO. 15 TEXAS TECH 72
Simas Lukosius scored 16 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 21 seconds left, as the Bearcats handed the Red Raiders their first home loss of the season.
The 14-footer by Lukosius was the 14th and final lead change of the game, which also had eight ties. That gave Cincinnati (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) a 73-72 lead right after Pop Isaacs made a long, defended step-back 3-pointer to put Texas Tech ahead for the final time.
Isaacs, who finished with a game-high 22 points for the Red Raiders (16-5, 5-3), missed a potential go-ahead jumper with nine seconds left.
NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 77
ST. JOHN’S 64
Cam Spencer had 23 points and freshman Stephon Castle scored a season-best 21 as the Huskies pulled away from the Red Storm for a victory at Madison Square Garden.
Tristen Newton added 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as defending-national champion Connecticut (20-2, 10-1 Big East), playing without injured forward Alex Karaban, won their 10th straight game.
Daniss Jenkins scored 19 for scuffling St. John’s (13-9, 5-6), which has dropped five of its last six after opening 4-1 in conference play during their first season under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
NO. 3 NORTH CAROLINA 93 NO. 7 DUKE 84
Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram each posted double-doubles to help the host Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils in the latest renewal of the fierce rivalry.
The 6-foot-11 Bacot finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while the 6-foot-7 Ingram was a force all over the court with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four steals.
It was an example of how much more productive and deeper the rotation is after an offseason overhaul, which has helped North Carolina (18-4, 10-1 ACC) push to the top of the league standings.
NO. 9 MARQUETTE 91 GEORGETOWN 57
Kam Jones scored a career-high 31 points and Tyler Kolek had 17 points and eight assists as the Golden Eagles won their sixth straight, taking down the host Hoyas.
David Joplin scored 15 points and Oso Ighodaro added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Marquette (17-5, 8-3 Big East), which forced 19 turnovers and outscored Georgetown 35-5 in points off turnovers.
NO. 18 BAYLOR 70
NO. 12 IOWA STATE 68
Jayden Nunn hit a jumper with two seconds left and finished with 16 points to lead the host Bears to a close win over the Cyclones.
Iowa State (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) came back from down 12 points at the half, but Baylor (16-5, 5-3) held on to move into a three-way tie for second in the conference.
NO. 16 AUBURN 91 MISSISSIPPI 77
Jaylin Williams scored 16 points as the Tigers erased a 13-point deficit in the first half with a dominating second half to defeat the host Rebels.
Johni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara each scored 15 points, with 27 of those 30 combined points coming in the second half for Auburn (18-4, 7-2 SEC).
SAN DIEGO STATE 81
NO. 17 UTAH STATE 67
Jaedon LeDee had 16 points and nine rebounds to help the Aztecs pull within a game of the top spot in the Mountain West Conference with a win against Great Osobor and the visiting Aggies.
San Diego State (17-5, 6-3 Mountain West) beat conference-leading Utah State (19-3, 7-2) for the fifth straight time.
NO. 20 FAU 102, TULSA 70
Johnell Davis scored 24 points and Alijah Martin and Vladislav Goldin each scored 18 as the host
Owls easily topped the Golden Hurricane for their seventh consecutive win.
Nick Boyd finished with 13 and Bryan Greenlee added 11 for Florida Atlantic (18-4, 8-1 American Athletic Conference), which remained tied with Charlotte and South Florida atop the league standings.
NO. 22 BYU 86
WEST VIRGINIA 73
Fousseyni Traore had a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the visiting Cougars to a victory over the Mountaineers.
Richie Saunders added 17 points and Jaxson Robinson scored 15 for BYU (16-5, 4-4 Big 12), which earned its second road win in five trips this season.
CENTRAL FLORIDA 74
NO. 23 OKLAHOMA 63
Jaylin Sellers shot 13for-14 from the free-throw line and scored 20 points, Antwann Jones hit three early 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and the host Knights knocked off the Sooners for coach Johnny Dawkins’ 300th coaching victory.
Darius Johnson added 14 points and eight assists for Central Florida (13-8, 4-5 Big 12), which never trailed.
NO. 24 ALABAMA 99 MISSISSIPPI STATE 67
Mark Sears scored 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor as the Crimson Tide used a balanced offensive effort for a win at home over the Bulldogs.
Rice shot 4 of 13 in the fourth quarter, including 0 for 6 from beyond the arc, as Florida Atlantic rallied for a 68-63 victory on Saturday afternoon in Boca Raton, Fla.
The visiting Owls, who led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, allowed 30 fourthquarter points as FAU hit all five of its 3-pointers in the period to put away just its second win in its last 11 games.
Destiny Jackson led Rice (12-9, 6-4 American Athletic Conference) with 16 points, and Dominique Ennis added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Florida Atlantic (7-14, 2-8 AAC) held Rice scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the fourth and quickly chipped away before pulling ahead with four minutes remaining after 3-pointers by Janeta Rozentale and Alexa Zaph.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 78
TSU 65
Ryann Payne scored a game-high 21 points, and Adreanna Waddle added 13 points and six rebounds as the Lady Panthers cruised to their fourth straight win, beating the Tigers at the William Nicks Building.
Daeja Holmes led TSU (4-16, 3-6 SWAC) with 17 points off the bench, while Jaida Belton scored 14 and added nine rebounds. Prairie View A&M (9-9, 5-3) won despite committing 21 turnovers and hitting just one 3-pointer in five attempts.
The Tigers had 22 turnovers of their own and couldn’t capitalize on their trips to the free throw line, hitting just 18 of 30.
Caitlin Clark had 38 points and 12 assists, and the Hawkeyes withstood a gritty effort by the Terrapins in College Park, Md.
Iowa (21-2, 10-1 Big Ten) won at Maryland for the first time since December 1992, when the Terps were in the ACC. Clark now needs 66 points to pass Kelsey Plum atop the NCAA career scoring list for women’s basketball.
A packed crowd in College Park had clearly come to watch Clark — but also mostly cheered for the Terps. Maryland trailed by 18 points in the third quarter before a 23-3 run gave the Terrapins the lead. Clark even shot an air ball from the left wing, to the delight of the Maryland crowd.
The Terps were up 65-63 before Iowa outscored them 10-1 the rest of the quarter. Clark made a 3-pointer and a layup and also assisted on two layups during that run. NO. 23 WEST VIRGINIA 76 BYU 69
Lauren Fields scored 22 points, Ja’Naiya Quinerly added 19 and the Mountaineers beat the Cougars in Provo, Utah.
West Virginia (19-2, 8-2 Big 12) scored the first seven points of the game and never trailed. But after pushing the lead to 41-23 with three minutes left in the first half, BYU cut the deficit to single digits midway through the third quarter and kept it there until the final minute.
Jordan Harrison added 11 points for the Mountaineers, who have won six straight. Lauren Gustin had 16 points and 14 rebounds for BYU (12-11, 2-8).