Virginia ends No. 5 Florida State’s winning streak
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a go-ahead layup with 59 seconds left, and Virginia ended No. 5 Florida State’s 10-game winning streak, 61-56 on Tuesday night.
Mamadi Diakite had 19 points and nine rebounds for Virginia, which has won two straight after losing four of its previous five. That stretch raised questions about whether the defending national champions would even make the NCAA Tournament this year.
The game was tied 11 times and neither team could get any separation over the final 10 minutes. Virginia trailed 56-55 before Clark drove down the left side of the lane, reached across and banked his shot in on the right side. After Devin Vassell missed a jumper for the Seminoles, Mamadi Diakite hit a pair of free throws with 13.9 seconds left for Virginia (14-6, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).
The Seminoles (17-3, 7-2) had two chances to tie it, but Wyatt Wilkes missed badly on a 3-point try from the top of the key and Trent Forrest also missed from the left corner. Braxton Key added a pair of free throws for Virginia.
Vassell led Florida State with 17 points. The loss was the Seminoles’ first since Dec. 3 at Indiana.
No. 9 DUKE 79, PITTSBURGH 67
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Vernon Carey Jr. had 26 points and 13 rebounds as Duke beat Pittsburgh after both teams honored Kobe Bryant during a pregame ceremony at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The somber opening gave way to a testy battle on the court that included an eruption by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski — in the direction of his own fans.
The Hall of Fame coach was angered by the Cameron Crazies directing a playful chant at Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel — a former Blue Devils player and assistant coach. Krzyzewski yelled at the fans to “Shut up!” and then came over across the court to scold them at the end of the first half.
Tre Jones contributed 14 points and Duncan Goldwire scored 13 as the Blue Devils (17-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their second straight game after dropping consecutive decisions to Clemson and Louisville. Pitt (13-8, 4-6) was led by Au’Diese Toney’s game-high 27 points, but lost for the fourth time in six games.
No. 8 VILLANOVA 79, ST. JOHN’S 59
NEW YORK (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 23 points, Collin Gillespie had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Villanova won its seventh straight game, easily handling St. John’s.
Justin Moore, starting for injured forward Jermaine Samuels, added 11 points and fellow freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 13 points and 14 rebounds as the balanced Wildcats (17-3, 7-1 Big East) won for the 13th time in 14 games.
Samuels, a 6-foot-7 junior averaging 11.1 points and five rebounds per game, was a game-time decision and sat out with a sprained left foot after getting hurt during Saturday’s victory at Providence. His absence hardly hindered the Wildcats, who quickly recovered from a slow start and opened a 24-point bulge in a second half that was never competitive.
Rasheem Dunn had 24 points for St. John’s (13-9, 2-7), the only Big East team to beat Villanova in each of the past two seasons.
No. 16 BUTLER 69, GEORGETOWN 64
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamar Baldwin heated up after halftime for the second consecutive game, helping Butler overcome another deficit to beat Georgetown.
Baldwin scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and now Butler has won two consecutive games after dropping three in a row in Big East play.
McDermott scored 11 of his 25 points during an 18-3 run early in the second half. Butler (17-4, 5-3 Big East) was down by as many as 14 before halftime but never trailed again after taking the lead.
Georgetown (12-9, 2-6) built its big lead by making 13 of 14 free throw attempts and capitalizing on Butler’s 12 first-half turnovers. Center Omer Yurtseven led the Hoyas with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Caleb McConnell scored 16 points, making all 12 of his free throw attempts, and Rutgers nearly blew a 17-point lead before holding off Purdue.
Rutgers (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) would build the lead to 44-27, before Purdue (11-10, 4-6) went on a 10-2 run capped by a Jahaad Proctor layup to make it 46-37 at 14:12. Purdue would continue to chip away at the lead, getting it to six on a couple of occasions by the under four minute media timeout. Matt Harms had a dunk to make it 62-58 with 3:29, before Evan Boudreaux hit the second of two free throws to make it a three-point game.
Harms would foul out on the ensuing possession, and McConnell would hit a pair of free throws to put Rutgers up 64-59 with just under two to play, but Eric Hunter Jr. would make a layup with half a minute to go to make it 64-61.
It’s the closest Purdue would get.
Proctor led Purdue with 19 points on while Trevion Williams had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
