Taylor leads No. 24 Texas A&M over No. 2 Alabama
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Wade Taylor scored 28 points and No. 24 Texas A&M beat No. 2 Alabama 67-61 Saturday, making its late free throws after Crimson Tide star Brandon Miller fouled out.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Crimson Tide (26-5, 16-2 Southeastern Conference). Alabama played the last two minutes minus Miller, who fouled out after scoring a team-leading 19 points.
The Aggies (23-8, 15-3) led by two with two minutes left when Miller fouled out chasing down a loose ball. Dexter Dennis made both free throws to make it 61-57.
A basket by Jahvon Quinerly cut the lead to two again with a minute to go, but Taylor made two free throws to make it 63-59 with 30 seconds left.
Rylan Griffen missed a 3 for Alabama and the Aggies added two more free throws to pad the lead. Quinerly missed a 3-pointer and A&M made two more free throws with 6 seconds left to seal the victory.
SEC champion Alabama lost for the first time since courtroom revelations tied freshmen Miller and Jaden Bradley to the scene of a fatal shooting. Neither has been charged or accused of a crime, but then-teammate Darius Miles and another man are facing capital murder charges.
Police said Miles texted Miller asking him to bring the gun. Miller has started every game and the university said he is a cooperating witness, not a suspect.
Iowa State 73, No. 7 Baylor 58: Jaren Holmes had 16 points and Iowa State ended a four-game losing streak with a win over host Baylor in what likely was the Bears’ final Big 12 home game in the 35-year-old Ferrell Center.
The Cyclones (18-12, 9-9 Big 12) played their first game since the dismissal of veteran guard Caleb Grill from the team earlier this week, and built as much as a 14-point lead before halftime.
Tre King finished with 13 points and Gabe Kalscheur had 12.
When Baylor (22-9, 11-7) had a 10-0 run early in the second half to cut its deficit to 36-32 with 15:29 left, the Cyclones responded with a spurt of 11 points in a row of their own. Kalscheur’s 3-pointer capped the run that pretty much sealed the game.
Adam Flagler had 20 points with five 3-pointers for the Bears, while LJ Cryer added 13 points. Standout freshman Keyonte George finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting after missing Monday’s victory at Oklahoma State because of a right ankle sprain. George got hurt early in a home game against Texas last weekend.
No. 13 Virginia 75, Louisville 60: Jayden Gardner and Armaan Franklin scored 16 points each and hostvirginia clinched a share of the regular season title in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Virginia (23-6, 15-5) began the day tied with No. 16 Miami and No. 25 Pittsburgh, the sixth time they’ve finished atop the ACC in 14 seasons under Tony Bennett. Miami and Pitt played later.
Mike James scored 24 and El Ellis had 14 for Louisville (4-27, 2-18), which lost for the eighth time in its last nine games and finished the regular season last in the conference.
The Cavaliers led throughout and used a 13-2 run in the first half to open a 26-10 lead. It was 36-20 at halftime and
the Cardinals never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Seton Hall 82, No. 20 Providence 58: Dre Davis scored 24 points to help Seton Hall beat host Providence.
Femi Odukale had 19 points while KC Ndefo scored 15 for the Pirates (17-14, 1010 Big East), who had dropped three in a row. Al-amir Dawes finished with 11 points.
Seton Hall shot 63% from the field and won the rebounding battle against a Providence team that entered the week with its sights set on the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big East Tournament.
Devin Carter scored 14 points for Providence (21-10, 13-7), and Ed Croswell had 13.