MARQUETTE UPSETS ’NOVA
Justin Lewis wanted the ball with the game on the line and got it — and briefly lost his grip. Like all the times Marquette nearly let the game slip away, Lewis recovered. And this time, he let it fly.
Over a fallen defender, Lewis buried a 3 that sent the Golden Eagles into a frenzy and led to one of the rarest of sights — a Villanova loss on its home court.
“I tell the guys all the time, we’re not guys who are going to come out and play pretty,” Lewis said after Marquette’s 57-54 win over No. 11 Villanova on Wednesday night.
His shot looked beautiful to the Golden Eagles.
Lewis’ fifth 3 of the game came with 11.5 seconds left to snap the Wildcats’ 29game on-campus winning streak.
Marquette won for the first time ever at the Pavilion and earned a breakthrough victory in coach Shaka Smart’s first season.
“Our guys deserve a lot of credit just for coming in here, hanging in there and giving us a chance to win,” he said.
Marquette (13-6, 5-3 Big
No. 11
East) briefly fumbled the ball, but Lewis recovered to nail the biggest shot of the season and send the Golden Eagles to their fifth straight win. The Golden Eagles stormed the court and mobbed each other in wild celebration after Villanova’s last-second heave was well off the mark.
Marquette simply never let this one get away from them, withstanding every big basket or defensive stop by Villanova (13-5, 6-2) that normally rattles the opposition.
“They hit a lot of timely 3s,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “The last one being the most timely.”
No. 2 Auburn 83, Georgia 60: Walker Kessler had 15 points and six blocked shots to lead a half-dozen scorers in double figures for host Auburn in a rout of Georgia.
The Tigers (17-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) built a 25-point lead by halftime and coasted to their 14th consecutive win, tied with Davidson for the nation’s longest current streak. It’s their best SEC start in 63 years.
Green had nine assists and four steals against the Bulldogs (5-13, 0-5), the only SEC team without a league win.
No. 12 Kentucky 64, Texas A&M 58: Sahvir Wheeler scored 12 points to lead a balanced scoring attack and visiting Kentucky used a strong second half to outlast host Texas A&M.
The victory extends Kentucky’s winning streak to four games and snaps an eight-game winning streak for Texas A&M (15-3, 4-1 SEC).
The Aggies were dominant early and led by as many as 13 in front of a record crowd of 14,036, but Kentucky (15-3, 5-1) chipped away The win was No. 799 for coach John Calipari.
Alabama 70, No. 13 LSU 67: Keon Ellis made two free throws with 5 seconds left, and Alabama survived a late comeback bid by visiting LSU to snap a three-game skid.
Jaden Shackelford led the Crimson Tide (12-6, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) with 26 points, a return to form after averaging 14.6 points in Alabama’s first five SEC games.
Murray scored 19 points for LSU (15-3, 3-3), which dropped its second straight.
No. 20 Xavier 68, DePaul 67: Jack Nunge scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half, and host Xavier rallied for a 68-67 victory over DePaul.
Colby Jones had 13 points for the Musketeers (14-3, 4-2 Big East), who trailed by as many as 12. Paul Scruggs finished with eight points and seven assists.
David Jones scored 26 points for DePaul (10-7, 1-6), and Brandon Johnson had 13. Yor Anei grabbed 10 rebounds.
West
Wyoming 84, San Jose State 69: Hunter Maldonado scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures for the host Cowboys (14-2, 3-0 Mountain West). Omari Moore had 15 points to lead San Jose State (7-9, 0-4).
Colorado State 80, New Mexico 74: David Roddy finished with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds to propel Colorado State over a stubborn visiting New Mexico team.
Isaiah Stevens added 16 points for the Rams (14-1, 4-1 Mountain West). Javont Johnson and Jaelen House scored 18 apiece for the Lobos (7-11, 0-5).