WACO, Texas — Johnathan Motley had 21 points with 16 rebounds and No. 9 Baylor ended a two-game slide with a 60-54 victory over Oklahoma on Tuesday night to remain in a tie for second place in the Big 12.
WACO, Texas — Johnathan Motley had 21 points with 16 rebounds and No. 9 Baylor ended a two-game slide with a 60-54 victory over Oklahoma on Tuesday night to remain in a tie for second place in the Big 12.
Baylor almost blew all of a 15-point lead in the second half, and held on even after not making a field goal in the last 6 minutes
Oklahoma used a 21-8 run to get within 49-47 on Jamuni McNeace’s jumper with 9:21 left. But Manu Lecomte then hit consecutive 3-pointers for the Bears, though those were more than 2 minutes apart and their last field goals.
The Bears (23-5, 10-5) stayed even with No. 12 West Virginia and Iowa State in the conference standings with three games left in the regular season.
Kameron McGusty had 13 points to lead the Sooners (9-18, 3-12).
No. 11 KENTUCKY 72, MISSOURI 62
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Bam Adebayo’s fourth double-double of the season helped Kentucky avoid a late-season upset, as the freshman scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.
Terrence Phillips led Missouri with a career-high 22 points, shooting 4 for 8 from 3-point range while the rest of the Tigers shot a combined 0 for 14.
Neither team led by more than two possessions in a low-scoring first half. Missouri (7-20, 2-13 Southeastern Conference) took a 28-24 lead with 4:27 remaining in the half following a 7-0 run. John Calipari called a time out after a layup by Jordan Barnett capped the Tigers’ run, and the Wildcats held a 31-30 halftime lead despite shooting 1 for 8 from the field to close the half. Barnett finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Kentucky (23-5, 13-2) dominated the glass in the second half, outrebounding the Tigers 26-12 led by Adebayo, who had 10 second-half rebounds.
No. 13 FLORIDA 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — KeVaughn Allen scored 26 points for Florida.
Devin Robinson added 14 points for Florida, which won its ninth consecutive game and locked up one of the top four seeds in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Chris Chiozza and Kasey Hill chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
South Carolina (20-8, 10-5 SEC) dropped its third in a row and fourth in five games.
The Gators (23-5, 13-2) looked much more comfortable in their second game without center John Egbunu, who is out for the season with a torn ligament in his left knee. Sophomore Kevarrius Hayes finished with seven points, six rebounds and three steals.
Sindarius Thornwell led the Gamecocks with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 14 PURDUE 74, PENN ST. 70, OT
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Ryan Cline scored six of his 11 points in overtime to lift Purdue.
Cline hit consecutive 3-pointers to secure his team’s sixth straight win in a game the Boilermakers led for just 9:16.
Vincent Edwards added 14 points, Isaac Haas chipped in 13 and Dakota Mathias scored 12 for the Boilermakers (23-5, 12-3 Big Ten).
Tony Carr scored 21 points, Lamar Stevens added 18 and Mike Watkins finished with 11 for Penn State (14-14, 6-9).
No. 25 WICHITA ST. 109, EVANSVILLE 83
WICHITA, Kan. — Shaq Morris had 18 points, Connor Frankamp and Markis McDuffie added 13 apiece for Wichita State in its return to the Top 25.
Landry Shamet added 12 points and Darral Willis Jr. had 11 for the Shockers (26-4, 16-1 Missouri Valley), who finally elbowed their way into the poll this week for the sixth straight season.
The nation’s No. 2 team in scoring margin and one of the best defensive teams in the country hasn’t lost since Jan. 14.
Jaylon Brown had 25 points to lead Evansville (14-16, 5-12), which has dropped nine straight to Wichita State.