Times wires
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kevin Jones scored 13 of his 15 in the second half and West Virginia used a late run to beat No. 16 Connecticut 65-56 Wednesday.
Connecticut (19-10, 10-7 Big East) has lost three of four to drop into a three-way tie for ninth in the conference and faces No. 8 Notre Dame on Saturday. West Virginia (19-10, 10-7) moved into a three-way tie for sixth entering the final weekend. It can clinch a first-round bye for the conference tournament by beating Louisville on Saturday.
Shabazz Napier's jumper with 2:49 left ended the Huskies' five-minute scoring drought and got them within 56-53. But West Virginia scored the next nine, Truck Bryant making seven free throws over the final 1:19.
No. 11 Louisville 87, Prov. 60: Preston Knowles had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the host Cardinals (23-7, 12-5 Big East), who clinched a double-bye into the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. Marshon Brooks, the conference's leading scorer (25 per game) who scored 27 in Providence's upset of Louisville on Jan. 22, scored 12.
No. 23 Xavier 68, Charlotte 48: Dante Jackson scored 18 to help the host Musketeers clinch a share of their fifth straight Atlantic 10 regular-season title. Xavier (23-6, 14-1) exacted revenge for its only conference loss, 66-62 at Charlotte on Feb. 2.
State: Rion Brown scored 19 to lead host Miami past Maryland 80-66. Brown and Malcolm Grant hit consecutive 3s late to help Miami (18-12, 6-9 ACC). … Isaac Sosa scored 12 of his 17 in the second half as host UCF (19-9, 6-9 C-USA) rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat SMU 51-48.
Sunshine State tourney: Host Tampa made 15 of 20 3s in beating Florida Tech 91-73 in the quarters. The No. 4 seed Spartans face No. 1 Rollins, an 83-62 winner over Barry, at 7:30 Saturday at Florida Tech. … Lance Kearse scored five of his 22 in overtime to lead host Eckerd past Lynn 79-73. The No. 3 seed Tritons face No. 2 Florida Southern, a 79-69 winner over Nova, at 5 Saturday at Florida Tech.
No. 3 BYU: The school said forward Brandon Davies, who Tuesday was suspended for the rest of the season for violating its honor code, wasn't involved in a criminal act. But it declined to specify what Davis, its second-leading scorer and top rebounder, did. BYU's honor code requires students live a chaste and virtuous life, be honest, attend church and abstain from alcohol, drugs, tobacco, tea and coffee.
Women
No. 3 Baylor 84, Missouri 52: Brittney Griner had 22 points and five blocks for the host Bears (27-2, 14-1 Big 12), who led 12-0 four minutes in.
Kan. St. 71, No. 5 Texas A&M 67: Brittany Chambers scored 35, including seven 3s, for the host Wildcats. Texas A&M (24-4, 12-3 Big 12) had previously lost only to top 10 teams (No. 3 Baylor twice and No. 8 Duke).
No. 18 Okla. 81, Okla. St. 66: The host Sooners (20-9, 10-5 Big 12) used a 13-0 run early in the second half to beat their instate rival for the eighth straight time.
Sunshine State tourney: Taja Green scored 16 of her 23 during the first half as host Tampa beat Lynn 75-65 in the quarters. The No. 2 seed Spartans play No. 3 Florida Tech, a 64-52 winner over Nova, at noon Saturday at Florida Tech. … Kati Rausberg scored 23, including six 3-pointers, as host Eckerd beat Rollins 70-62. The No. 4 seed Tritons face No. 1 Florida Southern, a 66-52 winner over Barry, at 2:30 Saturday at Florida Tech.
Seminoles honored: Florida State guard Christian Hunnicutt was named the ACC's defensive player of the year. It's the first time the award, voted on by league coaches, was won by a Seminole. And teammate Natasha Howard was named to the all-freshman team. The forward's 11.1 points per game were third among freshmen and 6.4 rebounds second.