Texas A&M sees skid extended in loss to Fairfield
TAMPA, Fla. — Landon Taliaferro scored a careerhigh 34 points and Taj Benning made six free throws in the final 16 seconds Sunday to help Fairfield hold off Texas A&M 67-62 in the seventh-place game of the Orlando Invitational.
Taliaferro made 12 of 18 shots, including a schoolrecord 10 3-pointers in 15 attempts for the Stags (2-6), who lost to Southern California and Davidson in their other two games in the eight-team tournament at Disney World. The Aggies (3-4) have lost three in a row.
Texas A&M trimmed a 61-52 deficit to three with consecutive 3-pointers from Savion Flagg, but the Aggies guard missed a potential game-tying trey before Benning closed it out from the line.
Flagg finished with 17 points. Quenton Jackson had 15 and Wendell Mitchell added 14 for Texas A&M, which led 29-25 at halftime.
“Too often, (Fairfield) played offense through our turnovers,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “At times we did a good job on the perimeter against the first shot … then there were those back-breaking plays where they got the offensive rebound.”
Despite going 0-3 with losses to Harvard, Temple and Fairfield, Williams feels the Aggies are making progress in their first season under him.
“Regardless of who’s on the court, we need some level of consistency, rather than trying guys to see if they’re going to be consistent,” Williams said.
MARYLAND 84 MARQUETTE 63
The No. 5 Terrapins dispatched the Warriors in the championship game of Orlando Invitational.
Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 22 points to capture tournament MVP honors with 72 points in three games, including a career-best 30 against Temple on Thanksgiving.
Maryland (8-0) is off to its best start since the 2006-07 season.
ARIZONA 73 WAKE FOREST 66
Dylan Smith scored 20 points and Chase Jeter contributed 17 points and nine rebounds as the No. 14 Wildcats won at Anaheim, Calif.
Olivier Sarr led the Demon Deacons with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Brandon Childress scored 19 points.
VILLANOVA 83, LA SALLE 72
Justin Moore had 25 points off the bench, Saddiq Bey scored 19 and the No. 22 Wildcats won at home.
Villanova (5-2) went on a 28-6 run to build a 48-28 cushion at halftime.
Ed Croswell led La Salle (4-3) with 14 points.
Women FLORIDA ST. 80 TEXAS A&M 58
Nausia Woolfolk scored a season-high 24 points, Kiah Gillespie added 22 points with nine rebounds and the No. 12 Seminoles routed the No. 6 Aggies at Fort Worth.
Chennedy Carter, the Southeastern Conference preseason player of the year, scored 20 points but had a rough shooting nigh for the Aggies (5-1). Carter missed all seven of her 3-point attempts against the Seminoles (7-0).
HAWAII 73, TEXAS 60
Amy Atwell scored 24 points as the Rainbow Warriors beat the Longhorns at Honolulu.
Charli Collier led Texas (4-4) with 18 points and Joyner Holmes added 17.
NORTHERN ARIZONA 79 HOUSTON BAPTIST 62
Khiarica Rasheed scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Lumberjacks over the Huskies at Houston.
HBU (3-4) was led by Julija Vujakovie with 17 points.
UCLA 73, VIRGINIA 62
Michaela Onyenwere had 27 points and 11 rebounds and the No. 11 Bruins won in the Cavalier Classic at Charlottesville, Va.
Lauryn Miller had 14 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA (7-0).
Jocelyn Willoughby led the Cavaliers (4-4) with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
KENTUCKY 81 AUSTIN PEAY 52
Rhyne Howard led a balanced attack with 14 points and the No. 14 Wildcats cruised to a win at Lexington, Ky.
KeKe McKinney added 12 points for the Wildcats (7-0) and three players had 10. Brianah Ferby led the Governors (6-1) with 13.
NORTH CAROLINA ST. 76 NORTH TEXAS 65
Elissa Cunane scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds and the No. 12 Wolfpack won in a Rainbow Wahine Showdown contest at Honolulu.
The Wolfpack (8-0) never trailed.
DEPAUL 70 NORTHWESTERN 68
Sonya Morris’ short jumper in the final minute lifted the No. 16 Blue Demons to a victory at Evanston, Ill., giving Doug Bruno his 700th victory as DePaul’s coach.
Chante Stonewall finished with 25 points for DePaul.
Abbie Wolf had 18 points and Lindsey Pulliam and Byrdy Galernik scored 16 each for the Wildcats.
TENNESSEE 81 AIR FORCE 54
Rennia Davis and Rae Burrell scored 18 points apiece and the No. 20 Volunteers remained unbeaten with a win at Knoxville, Tenn.
Riley Snyder led the Falcons (1-7) with 20 points. Tennessee (7-0) had five players in double figures.
GONZAGA 63, PURDUE 50
Melody Kempton had a career-high 18 points and the No. 22 Zags won the Gulf Coast Showcase at Estero, Fla.