BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont started the second half with a 17-4 run to break open a close game and continued its dominance against Maine with an 81-68 victory in an America East men’s basketball game Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Davis scored nine of his 21 points during the surge that turned a 42-37 halftime lead into a 59-41 advantage. Ben Shungu added 19 points for the Catamounts (15-4, 7-0 America East), who have won 23 straight meetings with Maine (4-15, 1-7).
The Black Bears have four players who scored in double figures: Vukasin Masic with 17, Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish with 15, Maks Klanjscek with 11 and Kristians Feierbergs with 10.
(1) AUBURN 86, OKLAHOMA 68: Jabari Smith bounced back from a rough shooting night with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Walker Kessler scored 21 points to lead the Tigers (20-1) past the visiting Sooners (13-8) as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Auburn built a big lead, lost most of it and then dominated the final minutes for its nation-leading 17th consecutive win.
The 7-foot-1 Kessler was 9 of 11 from the floor, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots.
(2) GONZAGA 104, PORTLAND 72: Andrew Nembhard scored 22 points and Gonzaga (17-2, 6-0 West Coast) made 18 3-pointers in a win over the Pilots (11-10, 2-4) at Spokane, Washington.
Drew Timme had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Anton Watson also scored 16 for Gonzaga, which won its 64th consecutive home game – the longest streak in the nation. Chet Holmgren added 12 points and 11 rebounds and Julian Strawther scored 14 points.
(3) ARIZONA 67, ARIZONA STATE 56: Bennedict Mathurin and Oumar Ballo scored 14 points each, and the Wildcats (17-2, 7-1 Pac-12) turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to beat the visiting Sun Devils (6-12, 2-6).
ALABAMA 87, (4) BAYLOR 78: Jaden Shackelford scored 19 points and had nine rebounds as the Crimson Tide (14-7) beat the Bears (18-3) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Alabama has now beaten three teams that reached the Final Four last season. Along with the defending champion Bears, the Crimson Tide knocked off then-No. 1 Gonzaga in early December and topped Houston a week later.
(12) KENTUCKY 80, (5) KANSAS 62: Keion Brooks scored 27 points Kentucky (17-4) manhandled Kansas (17-3) in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Wildcats grabbed a big halftime lead in Allen Fieldhouse and improved to 24-10 all-time in the series. The last Kentucky win in Allen Fieldhouse was in 1985.
Oscar Tshiebwe had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds for Kentucky.
Kansas was led by Ochai Agbaji, who had 13 points but was held well below his Big 12-leading 21.3 points per game.
(7) UCLA 66, STANFORD 43: Jules Bernard scored 16 points and the Bruins (16-2, 8-1 Pac-12) won their sixth in a row, defeating Stanford (12-7, 5-4) in Los Angeles.
(7) HOUSTON 63, UCF 49: Kyler Edwards scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half and Josh Carlton added 13 points and 14 rebounds as the Cougars (18-2, 7-0 American) beat the Knights (12-7, 4-5) in Orlando, Florida.
(9) DUKE 74, LOUISVILLE 65: AJ Griffin scored 22 points, including consecutive 3-pointers during a late 12-0 run that helped the Blue Devils (17-3, 7-2 ACC) beat the Cardinals (11-10, 5-6) in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Blue Devils led 24-8 after 10 minutes before Louisville eventually rallied to forge several ties, the last at 60-60 on an El Ellis 3-pointer with 8:28 remaining. Wendell Moore Jr.’s two free throws put Duke back in front before Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams followed with timely blocks, the latter of which set up Griffin’s critical 3 to make it 65-60.
Griffin then followed Williams’ block of Mason Faulkner with another 3 for an eight-point lead. Banchero added a jumper and Williams a layup for the double-digit cushion that helped Duke earn its third consecutive victory and fifth in six contests.
(10) MICHIGAN STATE 83, MICHIGAN 67: Max Christie scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half and Malik Hall finished with 15 points, leading the Spartans (16-4, 7-2 Big Ten) past the Wolverines (10-8, 4-4) in East Lansing, Michigan.
(13) TEXAS TECH 76, MISSISSIPPI STATE 50: Adonis Arms had 16 points and seven assists as the Red Raiders (16-5) stayed undefeated at home by overwhelming the Bulldogs (13-7) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
(14) VILLANOVA 73, ST. JOHN’S 62: Collin Gillespie scored 17 points, Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels each had 15 and the Wildcats (16-5, 9-2 Big East) used a 19-2 run in the first half to pull away from the visiting Red Storm (11-8, 3-5).
(15) USC 79, CALIFORNIA 72: Isaiah Mobley scored a career-high 24 points, Boogie Ellis added a season-high 21 and the Trojans (18-3, 8-3 Pac-12) held off the Golden Bears (9-12, 2-8) in Los Angeles.
TEXAS 52, (18) TENNESSEE 51: Timmy Allen’s free throw with 6 seconds left gave the Longhorns (16-5) a win over the visiting Volunteers (14-6) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge after Tennessee rallied from 17 points down in the second half.
TCU 77, (19) LSU 68: Chuck O’Bannon scored 16 of his career-high 19 points after halftime, including three consecutive 3-pointers from basically the same spot, and the Horned Frogs (14-4) beat the slumping Tigers (16-5) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at Fort Worth, Texas.
LSU lost for the fourth time in five games.
(20) UCONN 57, DePAUL 50: R.J. Cole scored 25 points to help the Huskies (15-4, 6-2 Big East) beat the Blue Demons (10-10, 1-9) in Chicago.
(21) XAVIER 74, CREIGHTON 64: Jack Nunge and Paul Scruggs fueled a dramatic second-half turnaround as the Musketeers (15-5, 5-4 Big East) scored 29 of the first 31 points to wipe out a 17-point deficit against the Bluejays (12-7, 4-4) in Omaha, Nebraska.
Scruggs scored 18 points, while Nunge made a career-high four 3-pointers and had all 16 of his points in the second half.
(23) IOWA STATE 67, MISSOURI 50: Izaiah Brockington scored 15 points and Tyrese Hunter added 14 as the Cyclones (16-5) defeated the Tigers (8-12) in Ames, Iowa, as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
(24) ILLINOIS 59, NORTHWESTERN 56: Kofi Cockburn returned from a concussion and had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the Illini (15-5, 8-2 Big Ten) past the Wildcats (9-10, 2-8) in Evanston, Illinois.
(25) DAVIDSON 77, LA SALLE 69: Luka Brajkovic scored 22 points, Foster Loyer added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists and the Wildcats (17-3, 7-1 Atlantic 10) held off La Salle (6-12, 1-7) in Bob McKillop’s 1,000th game as Davidson’s head coach.
McKillop, 71, is 624-376 during his 33 seasons at Davidson.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(18) OKLAHOMA 65, (9) TEXAS 63: Madi Williams had 23 points and nine rebounds, and the Sooners (18-3, 7-2) beat the Longhorns (17-4, 5-3) in Norman, Oklahoma.
(11) BAYLOR 87, WEST VIRGINIA 54: Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith combined to score 25 of their 40 points in the first half when the Bears (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) built a 30-point lead, and Jordan Lewis had a triple-double in a win over the Mountaineers (10-8, 3-5) at Morgantown, West Virginia.
(13) IOWA STATE 88, TEXAS TECH 65: Emily Ryan scored 20 points with seven assists, Lexi Donarski added 19 points and the Cyclones (18-3, 7-2 Big 12) cruised to a win over the Red Raiders (9-11, 2-7) in Lubbock, Texas.
(16) BYU 99, SAN FRANCISCO 58: Paisley Harding scored 30 points on 11-for-17 shooting as the Cougars (18-1, 8-0 West Coast Conference) beat the Dons (10-11, 4-5) in Provo, Utah.
(25) KANSAS STATE 63, TCU 54: Ayoka Lee scored 25 points the Wildcats (16-5, 6-3 Big 12) pulled away in the final five minutes to beat the Horned Frogs (6-11, 2-6) in Manhattan, Kansas.
MEN’S HOCKEY
SKIDMORE 7, SOUTHERN MAINE 3: Thomas Finck broke a tie in the second period after USM erased a three-goal deficit, and Callahan Johnson and Patrick Kaeden each scored twice for the Thoroughbreds (13-7-1, 8-5-1 NEHC) in a win over the Huskies (7-8-1, 5-5-1) at Saratoga Springs, New York.
USM trailed 3-0 after the first period but tied it in a span of 2:25 early in the second, getting two goals from Adam Withers sandwiched around a Cole Ouellette goal that was assisted by Withers.
Finck, though, put Skidmore back in front just 37 seconds after Withers’ second goal.
UNION: Rick Bennett, who led the Dutchmen to their only national championship in 2014, has resigned after a weeklong investigation into how he coached the team.
Assistant coach John Ronan, a former UMaine player, was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.
The college placed Bennett on administrative leave Jan. 20. Athletic Director Jim McLaughlin said he received an anonymous email that triggered an investigation that involved talking to current and former players and athletic staff. McLaughlin said the probe into Bennett’s coaching style and practices was substantiated but did not turn up a long pattern of misconduct.
The specific nature of the allegation was not disclosed.
Bennett had a record of 194-134-45 in 11 seasons and guided the Dutchmen to two Frozen Fours and three ECAC tournament titles.
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