Cowboys hold on at home, beat Aggies
John Lucas III scored 27 points, Joey Graham added 16 and No. 8 Oklahoma State beat Texas A&M 69-63 on Wednesday night, its closest home win of the season.
The Cowboys (21-5, 11-4 Big 12), coming off consecutive losses for the first time all season, didn’t score a field goal in the final 5 minutes, but they hit 15 straight free throws down the stretch to hold off the Aggies (18-8, 7-8). The win was the Cowboys’ 29th straight in Gallagher-Iba Arena and extended the nation’s longest home winning streak.
Acie Law IV scored 22 points to lead Texas A&M, which has lost 10 straight to Oklahoma State and hasn’t won in Stillwater, Okla., since the 1922-23 season.
(3) Kentucky 73, Tennessee 61: At Lexington, Ky., senior forward Chuck Hayes, playing his last home game for Kentucky, scored nine of his 13 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes as the Wildcats (23-3, 14-1 SEC) held off the upset-minded Volunteers (12-16, 5-10). Tennessee hung with the Wildcats for most of the game and were tied 55-55 with 8:25 left after Chris Lofton hit his fifth 3-pointer. Lofton scored 19 points, giving him 91 in Tennessee’s last four games.
(4) Wake Forest 98, Georgia Tech 91: Vytas Danelius got 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Demon Deacons (25-4, 12-3 ACC) to a victory over the Yellow Jackets (16-10, 12-8) at Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake Forest rallied from 11 points down in the second half to pull out the win and finish the season 16-0 at home. Jarrett Jack led Georgia Tech with 23 points, while B.J Elder had 22.
(7) Kansas 72, Kansas St. 65: At Lawrence, Kan., Wayne Simien had 25 points and 20 rebounds and the Jayhawks (22-4, 12-3 Big 12) celebrated the 50th anniversary of Allen Fieldhouse with a victory over the Wildcats (15-11, 5-10). The Jayhawks clinched at least a tie for the Big 12 championship with their 30th straight win over the Wildcats, who managed to stay close most of the game with the sort of tight zone defense that has troubled Kansas all season. Cartier Martin had 17 points and Jeremiah Massey added 16 for Kansas State.
(14) Michigan St. 69, Northwestern 58: Maurice Ager scored 20 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that curtailed a Northwestern comeback, and the Spartans (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) held on to beat the Wildcats (14-14, 6-9) at Evanston, Ill. Vedran Vukusic led Northwestern with 17 points and went over 1,000 for his career. Northwestern coach Bill Carmody got his second technical foul with 35 seconds left in the opening half and was ejected.
(15) Connecticut 83, Georgetown 64: At Storrs, Conn., Charlie Villanueva scored 24 points and freshman Rudy Gay added a career-high 20 to give the Huskies (20-6, 12-3 Big East) a win over the Hoyas (16-10, 8-7) for coach Jim Calhoun’s 700th career victory. The win also moved UConn into a first-place tie with Boston College in the Big East. Freshman Jeff Green led Georgetown with 17 points.
(19) Villanova 79, Seton Hall 58: Randy Foye scored a career-high 27 points and Curtis Sumpter added 19 to lead the Wildcats (20-6, 10-5 Big East) to victory over the Pirates (11-15, 3-12) at Villanova, Pa. Allan Ray scored 16 points for the Wildcats, who won 20 games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season under former coach Steve Lappas. The Wildcats had never won more than 19 games under fourth-year coach Jay Wright. Kelly Whitney scored 12 for the Pirates.
(21) Alabama 94, Auburn 53: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Earnest Shelton and Kennedy Winston each scored 24 points to lead the Crimson Tide (22-6, 11-4 SEC) to a victory over the Tigers (12-16, 3-12), snapping Alabama’s two-game losing streak. The Tigers shot just 29 percent from the field and lost their fifth straight game.
(22) Cincinnati 77, Tulane 56: Jihad Muhammad scored a career-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and Jason Maxiell added 18 points leading the Bearcats (23-6, 11-4 C-USA) to a victory over the slumping Green Wave (9-17, 3-12). Taylor Rochestie led the Green Wave with 14 points.
Women’s Top 25
Annissa Hastings scored 19 points and Tiffany Jackson added 14 points to lead the No. 11 Texas Longhorns (20-7, 13-3 Big 12) to its seventh straight win, 69-57 over the Texas A&M Aggies (14-13, 4-12) at College Station, Texas. The win keeps alive Texas’ hopes of claiming at least a share of its third straight Big 12 title. Heather Schreiber scored 13 points for Texas. … (17) Kansas State 80, Missouri 53: At Columbia, Mo., Kendra Wecker scored 21 of her 26 points in the second half, leading the Wildcats (21-6, 12-4 Big 12) to victory over the Tigers (10-17, 4-12). Christelle N’Garsanet scored 12 for Missouri.