Guard tandem carries UConn to OT win
HARTFORD, Conn. — There are plenty of great guard tandems in the American Athletic Conference. UConn made a case Saturday that it might have the best.
Shabazz Napier scored a careerhigh 34 points and Ryan Boatright added 21, eight in overtime, and the 24th- ranked Huskies beat No. 20 Memphis 86- 81 to sweep the season series from the Tigers.
The pair combined to make 20 of 24 free throws. Boatright added six assists, while Napier had four assists and five rebounds.
“You have got to have guards in this game,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “We have some terrific bigs and Memphis has some terrific bigs, but at the end of the day, the guards can make so much happen on the perimeter and break defenses down.”
Memphis guard Joe Jackson had 24 points and seven assists to lead the Tigers ( 19- 6, 8- 4). Geron Johnson added 15 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Chris Crawford added 12 points.
UConn opened the extra period on a 7- 2 run. Memphis cut it to 76- 74 after a Michael Dixon hit a 3- pointer, but Napier responded with one of his five 3- pointers.
Trailing 69- 66 with less than a minute to go in regulation, Napier drove the lane, drawing Johnson’s fourth foul and completing the 3- point play to tie the game.
No. 7 Kansas 95, TCU 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Perry Ellis scored a career- high 32 points, Andrew Wiggins added 17 andKansas overcame a sluggish start and a virtuoso performance by TCU’s Kyan Anderson.
Ellis also had eight rebounds and five assists, and Wayne Selden Jr. scored 15 points for the Jayhawks ( 19- 6, 10- 2 Big 12), who trailed by as many as six in the first half.
Playing without injured center Joel Embiid and suspended forward Brannen Greene, Kansas managed to build a 47- 40 lead by the break. The Jayhawks then used a 13- 1 charge out of the locker room to put away the Horned Frogs ( 9- 15, 0- 12).
TCU has not won since knocking off Texas Southern on Dec. 29.
No. 10 Cincinnati 73, Houston 62
CINCINNATI — Sean Kilpatrick scored 28 points and Justin Jackson overcame foul problems to add 13, all in the second half, for Cincinnati.
Sophomore forwa rd Shaquille Thomas added 11 for the Bearcats ( 23- 3 12- 1 American Athletic Conference), who were playing their first game since having a 15- game winning streak snapped with a 76- 55 loss at SMU on Feb. 8.
Freshman forward Danrad Knowles scored 11 points to lead Houston ( 12- 13, 4- 8). Sophomore guard L. J. Rose, sophomore forward Danuel House and junior forward TaShawn Thomas each added 10.
No. 12 Saint Louis 64, VCU 62
ST. LOUIS — Dwayne Evans had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Saint Louis broke a late tie with seven straight points for its 17th straight victory.
The Billikens ( 23- 2, 10- 0 Atlantic 10) blew a 12- point second- lead before finally putting away VCU ( 20- 6, 8- 3) in a matchup of the Atlantic 10’ s top two teams. Jordair Jett and Rob Loe had 14 points apiece for Saint Louis, which beat VCU for a third straight time.
Mike McCall Jr. and Jordair Jett drove for layups and Rob Loe hit a 3- pointer with the shot clock winding down for a seven- point lead with 36 seconds to go. VCU cut the deficit to three before Loe hit the second of two free throws for a four- point gap with 8 seconds left.
No. 16 Iowa 82, Penn St. 70
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Melsahn Basabe scored 16 points, and Iowa pulled away from Penn State.
Roy Devyn Marble added 15, Aaron White 14 and Mike Gesell 13 as the Hawkeyes ( 19- 6, 8- 4) won their fourth Big Ten road game of the season. Iowa’s three- game road winning streak in the Big Ten is its longest since 1998.
Penn State
( 13- 13, 4- 9) was
led by D. J. Newbill, who scored 22 points, but Tim Frazier was held to 11.
The game was tied four times in the second half before Iowa stretched it out with a 14- 4 run. Marble pumped in seven of those.
No. 17 Virginia 63, Clemson 58
CLEMSON, S. C. — Joe Harris scored 16 points, including a critical 3- pointer with about three minutes left, and Virginia won its ninth straight Atlantic Coast Conference game for the first time in 32 years.
The Cavaliers ( 21- 5) moved to 12- 1 in ACC play, also for the first time since Ralph Sampson patrolled the middle in the 198182 season.
The Tigers ( 15- 9, 6- 6) trailed 49- 48 on Rod Hall’s layup with 3: 38 to go. That’s when Harris struck for a 3 and Anthony Gill followed with a three- point play for a 55- 50 lead.
Clemson closed to 59- 58 on K. J. McDaniels’ 3 with 20.7 seconds left, but Malcolm Brogdon made two foul shots as the Cavaliers held on.
McDaniels had 24 points before fouling out in the final
seconds.
North Carolina 75, No. 25 Pittsburgh 71
CHAPEL HILL, N. C. — James Michael McAdoo had 24 points and 12 rebounds to help North Carolina hold off Pittsburgh for its sixth straight victory.
Marcus Paige added 18 points for the Tar Heels ( 17- 7, 7- 4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot 48 percent after halftime and led by 12 with about nine minutes left.
Pitt ( 20- 6, 8- 5) fought back to within three with the ball in the final 10 seconds. But Lamar Patterson missed a 3- pointer for the tie, and Talib Zanna missed a putback attempt before Patterson fouled on the rebound with 2.8 seconds left. UNC’s Brice Johnson hit his second free throw to make it a two- possession game.
Johnson added 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots, including one on a driving layup by James Robinson with the Tar Heels up 74- 68 in the final minute. Patterson scored 16 points to lead the Panthers