Kentucky freshman provides lift
There were moments Saturday when topranked Kentucky could have blinked against No. 4 Louisville with its veterans battling secondhalf foul trouble and shooting woes.
The Wildcats didn’t because freshman guard Tyler Ulis stepped up with a 14-point performance made more impressive by the fact he achieved it despite a bandaged right eye that made blinking difficult.
“I was more excited than nervous because it was my first away game,” said Ulis, who shook off a bloody cut to score 12 second-half points and lead the Wildcats to a 58-50 victory over the Cardinals.
“Being a freshman, I just wanted to see what the atmosphere felt like.”
Ulis received three stitches above the eye after the inadvertent elbow from Louisville’s Chris Jones in the first half. He returned with an effort that not only helped Kentucky claim Bluegrass State bragging rights, but possibly clear its biggest hurdle toward an unbeaten season.
“We’re not going to think about it,” center Dakari Johnson said. “We’re just going to take one game at a time.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points and nine rebounds and Devin Booker added nine points for Kentucky (13-0), which held Louisville (11-1) to 26 percent shooting in a game defined by defense until Kentucky’s freshmen started making their shots.
They ended up scoring 39 points, with the 5foot-9 UIis setting the second-half tone with two big three-pointers to give the Wildcats a cushion.
Terry Rozier scored 15 points and Jones had 13 for Louisville, which led just once at 13-12 and couldn’t seem to make the shot it needed every time it got close.
“We’re a little offensively challenged, especially from the threepoint line,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “We knew that we could play good defense. It was a question of whether we could score, and the answer was we didn’t.”
#8 Gonzaga 87, BYU 80: Kyle Wiltjer scored 24 points and Kevin Pangos had 21 points and seven assists as the Bulldogs (12-1) beat the host Cougars (10-4) in a WCC opener. ... Tyler Haws and Anson Winder each scored 17 points for BYU.
#15 Maryland 72, Oakland 56: Jake Layman had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the host Terrapins (12-1) extend their winning streak to five games with a victory over the Golden Grizzlies (4-10).
#20 North Carolina 89, Alabama-Birmingham 58: Marcus Paige scored 16 points to lead the host Tar Heels (9-3) past the Blazers (4-9).
#21 Ohio State 100, Wright State 55: D’Angelo Russell scored 24 points and Amir Williams added 21 as the host Buckeyes (11-2) beat the Raiders (8-6). #24 Colorado State 58, New Mexico State 57: J.J. Avila, who scored 19 points, hit a layup with 31 seconds left in overtime to give the Rams (13-0) a victory over the host Aggies (5-9).
USF 77, Pacific 71: Mark Tollefsen, who scored 24 points, drained a three-pointer with 2:48 left to snap a 63-63 tie and spark a game-ending 14-8 run as the Dons (7-6) defeated the host Tigers (8-5) in a WCC opener. ... T.J. Wallace scored 26 points for Pacific.
Portland 61, San Diego 58: Alec Wintering hit a threepointer with 0.3 seconds left to cap the Pilots’ game-ending 9-0 run as Portland (9-3) beat the host Toreros (7-5) in a WCC opener. ... Volodymyr Gerun and D'Marques Tyson scored 13 points apiece for the Pilots. San Diego’s Christopher Anderson had 14 points.
IUPUI 55, Pepperdine 53: DavRon Williams had 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Jaguars (4-9), who held off the Waves (7-4) in Malibu. ... Shawn Olden had 15 points to lead Pepperdine.
WOMEN
#2 UConn 96, SMU 45: Moriah Jefferson had 24 points as the No. 2 Huskies (9-1) routed the Mustangs (4-8) in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams in Hartford, Conn. ... Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 19 points, Kia Nurse had 13 points and seven assists and Morgan Tuck added 12 points for UConn, which hosts No. 10 Duke on Monday night.
St. Mary’s 62, Santa Clara 61: In a WCC opener for both teams, Lauren Nicholson scored 21 points and Hayley Hendricksen added seven points — including one on a crucial free throw with two seconds left — and 11 rebounds as the Gaels (8-4) beat the host Broncos (5-5), who were paced by Nici Gilday’s 31 points.
Pacific 92, USF 54: Kendall Kenyon had 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Tigers (9-3) overwhelmed the host Dons (9-3) in the WCC opener for both teams. ... Zhane Dikes and Taylor Proctor scored 13 points apiece for USF.