GAME OF THE NIGHT: St. Bonaventure 62, Davidson 61
The matchup between the Bonnies and Wildcats produced one of the wilder game-ending finishes you’ll see, with Mark Schmidt picking up his 200th career win in the process. After Peyton Aldridge hit a three-pointer with 4.8 seconds remaining to give Davidson a 61-60 lead, Marcus Posley went the length of the floor and scored on a floater as time expired to give St. Bonaventure the win and end Davidson’s 15-game home win streak. Posley led all scorers with 19 points, while Brian Sullivan was Davidson’s top scorer with 17. Both teams are now 5-4 in Atlantic 10 play.
Video credit: Campus Insiders
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
1. Purdue 60, No. 20 Ohio State 58
Matt Painter’s Boilermakers won their fourth straight Wednesday night, with Rapheal Davis and A.J. Hammons among the key contributors. Davis scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Hammons added seven points, seven rebounds and seven blocks for Purdue, with Jon Octeus adding 14 points and seven rebounds. D’Angelo Russell led the way for Ohio State with 20 points, but his 40-footer as time expired fell well short of the rim.
2. Providence 74, No. 24 Georgetown 71
Trailing by nine with 10:31 remaining after Kris Dunn was called for his fourth foul, the Friars looked to be in serious trouble. However his teammates stepped up, and after a wild final few minutes Ed Cooley’s team managed to pick up the win at Georgetown. LaDontae Henton and freshman Ben Bentil scored 16 points apiece, and Dunn finished with 12 points, nine assists and seven steals as Providence picked up its first road win over a ranked opponent since 2004. The win also completes a season sweep of Georgetown, the first time the Friars have accomplished that since 1994. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera scored 21 points and three other players scored ten apiece for the Hoyas, who visit No. 7 Villanova on Saturday.
3. Oklahoma State 65, No. 25 Texas 63 (OT)
Rick Barnes’ Longhorns are now 3-6 in Big 12 play, with two Phil Forte free throws in the final seconds of overtime being the difference. Neither he (3-for-13, 14 points) nor Le’Bryan Nash (6-for-19, 17 points) shot all that well for the Cowboys, but Anthony Hickey stepped forward with 15 points and four steals for Oklahoma State. Isaiah Taylor led the Longhorns with 18 points, but he shot 6-for-15 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Texas has issues to work out offensively, as they’ve struggled to establish a consistent rhythm in conference play and that goes beyond the level of competition they’re facing.
STARRED
1. Javarez Willis, Ohio
31 points (12-for-18 FG), seven rebounds and five assists in the Bobcats’ 83-82 win over Akron.
2. Corey Petros, Oakland
Petros scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the Golden Grizzlies’ 91-72 win at UIC.
3. Dan Trist and Nick Lindner, Lafayette
Trist scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Lindner added 26 as Lafayette beat Bucknell 84-74 in overtime.
4. Chris Fowler, Central Michigan
Fowler scored a career-high 42 points, making 14 of his 23 field goal attempts, and grabbed four rebounds in the Chippewas 76-74 overtime loss to Bowling Green.
STRUGGLED
1. Jackson Kent, James Madison
Three points on 1-for-9 shooting in the Dukes’ 77-65 loss to UNCW.
2. Chris Washburn, TCU
Washburn did tally six rebounds and four steals in the Horned Frogs’ 77-57 loss at Baylor, but he also went scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting.
3. Daniel Bejarano, Colorado State
Bejarano scored five points on 2-for-11 shooting in the Rams’ 59-48 loss at Wyoming.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25
- Mike Krzyzewski won his ACC record 423rd conference game, as No. 4 Duke held off Georgia Tech 72-66 in Durham. Quinn Cook scored 17 and Justise Winslow added 15 and ten boards.
- No. 7 Villanova remains in sole possession of first place in the Big East after beating Marquette 70-52 in Philadelphia. Next up for the Wildcats is Georgetown, which beat them in D.C. last month.
- No. 10 Notre Dame needed to expend a little more effort than expected against Boston College, winning 71-63 after the Eagles cut the lead to six with 1:47 remaining. Notre Dame led the game by 25 at one point in the first half.
- Ron Baker led three Shockers in double figures with 14 points as No. 16 Wichita State held off Bradley 62-59.
- In their first game without Briante Weber, No. 18 VCU forced 18 turnovers in their 72-60 win over George Mason. Melvin Johnson scored a game-high 17 points.
- Dez Wells scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds in No. 17 Maryland’s 64-58 win over Penn State. Jon Graham, who began his college career at Penn State, added a career-high 16 points for the Terrapins.
NOTABLES
- Wyoming moved to 8-2 in the Mountain West with a 59-48 win over Colorado State, with Larry Nance Jr. scoring 19 points and grabbing ten rebounds. They’re joined atop the standings by San Diego State, which held on to win 65-63 at Nevada.
- Temple has now won four in a row after winning 61-48 at USF, with Will Cummings (19 points) becoming the 50th player in school history to score at least 1,000 points in a career.
- Lehigh shot better than 63 percent from the field in their 103-74 win over Army, the most points they’ve scored in a regulation win since 1994.
- Connar Tava’s shot with ten seconds remaining gave Western Michigan a 67-66 win over Kent State. Kent State’s loss dropped them into a four-way tie for first in the MAC East with Akron, Buffalo and Bowling Green (all 6-3).
- Ole Miss picked up a 69-56 win over Texas A&M in Oxford, and it’s a result Andy Kennedy’s team needed as they look to play their way into the NCAA tournament. Now 6-3 in the SEC, the Rebels have won four straight.
- Albany is now 10-0 in America East thanks to their 63-62 win over New Hampshire. Evan Singletary’s three with 1:04 remaining gave the Great Danes a lead they would not relinquish.
- Three of the four teams atop the Horizon League standings with two losses apiece picked up wins, as Cleveland State (8-2; beat Youngstown State) and Valparaiso (8-2, beat Detroit) won at home and Oakland (7-2) won at UIC. Green Bay, which is 7-2, was off Wednesday night.
- Ricky Kreklow scored 17 points and Geoffrey Groselle added 15 off the bench as Creighton picked up its second Big East win of the season, beating Xavier 79-72 in overtime.