Bison finish atop MEAC for first time in 36 years
Bryce Harris scored a gamehigh 22 points to power a blistering shooting performance for the Howard men, who routed twotime defending conference champion Norfolk State, 87-67, to claim their first Mid-eastern Athletic Conference regular season crown since the 1986-87 season Thursday night at Burr Gymnasium.
Harris shot 9 for 11 from the field for the Bison (19-12, 11-3), who shot 52.6 percent (30 for 57), including 53.8 percent (14 for 26) from beyond the arc. Jordan Wood and Marcus Dockery each finished with 12 points.
Kris Bankston and Dana Tate Jr. scored 18 points apiece for the Spartans (20-10, 9-5), who lost their second straight.
• AMERICAN 52, NAVY 51: Matt Rogers scored 17 points and Johnny O’neil added 15 as the Eagles (17-14) edged the Midshipmen (18-13) in a Patriot League tournament quarterfinal at Alumni Hall in Annapolis. YOUNGSTOWN STATE 71,
• DETROIT MERCY 66: Antoine Davis outscored them all — except for “Pistol” Pete.
The Titans’ star guard finished four points shy of surpassing Pete Maravich as the NCAA career scoring leader Thursday night, scoring 22 points in a gritty loss to the Penguins (24-8) in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament in Youngstown, Ohio.
Davis came in needing 26 points to break Maravich’s hallowed mark that stood for more than 50 years. But after picking up his fourth foul with 3:36 left, the 6-foot-1 guard didn’t drive to the basket and then missed four threepointers — one of them a wideopen look — in the final two minutes of the intense game.
Unless Detroit Mercy (14-19) receives an unlikely postseason bid, Davis will finish with 3,664 points in five seasons. Maravich amassed 3,667 points in just three years.
• HOUSTON 83, WICHITA STATE 66: Jamal Shead scored a career-high 25 points and Marcus Sasser added 24 as the top-ranked Cougars (28-2, 16-1 American Athletic) raced past the Shockers (15-14, 8-9) in Houston.
Sasser tied the school career record for three-pointers set by Robert Mckiver with 261.
Stanford advances to semis
Cameron Brink had 22 points and 11 rebounds as the No. 6 Stanford women (28-4) overcame a lot of early misses to oust Oregon (17-14), 76-65, in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.
• MICHIGAN 63, PENN STATE 61: Laila Phelia and Emily Kiser scored 13 points apiece, and the 17th-ranked Wolverines (22-8) survived a comeback by the Nittany Lions (14-17) in the second round of the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis.
• UCLA 73, ARIZONA 59: Emily Bessoir had 18 points and 13 rebounds for her first career doubledouble, Charisma Osborne also scored 18 points, and the 19th-ranked Bruins (24-8) handled the No. 21 Wildcats (21-9) in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.
• GEORGE MASON 64, LA SALLE 58: Senior Sonia Smith scored a game-high 18 points as the Patriots (16-14) advanced to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament for the first time since 2018 by holding off the Explorers (17-14) in Wilmington, Del.
• GEORGE WASHINGTON 71, DUQUESNE 68: Mia Lakstigala scored a game-high 24 points and drilled six three-pointers to propel the Colonials (18-12) past the Dukes (19-12) and into the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
• HOWARD 60, NORFOLK STATE 55: Destiny Howell scored a game-high 23 points to carry the Bison (14-13, 10-4 Mid-eastern Athletic Conference) past the Spartans (23-6, 11-3), the MEAC regular season champ, at Burr Gymnasium.
Minnesota’s Whalen resigns
Lindsay Whalen, considered the greatest player in Minnesota women’s basketball history, resigned as coach after a third straight losing season.