Boopie Miller’s heave from just behind half-court as time expired pushed SMU past Virginia Tech 77-76 in a thriller Wednesday night in Dallas.
Miller scored 24 points, 19 in the second half, and dished out six assists for the Mustangs (13-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). SMU played from behind for all but 1:13 of the second half.
Jailen Bedford, who grew up in nearby Austin, Texas, led the Hokies (13-5, 2-3) with 22 points, and Jaden Schutt added 15, including a 3-pointer that gave Tech a seemingly safe lead.
Missed free throws doomed Virginia Tech down the stretch, as the Hokies hit just 43% in the second half.
SMU’s Jaron Pierre Jr. grabbed a rebound with 1.7 seconds remaining after a missed free throw, and each team called a timeout before the inbounds play. B.J. Edwards found a streaking Miller, who took two dribbles and made the shot from about 50 feet. That made him 1 of 6 from 3-point range for the night.
Virginia Wesleyan 70, Lynchburg 59: Omari DeVeaux had 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals as the Marlins (9-4, 4-0) retained sole possession of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference lead with a home triumph over the Hornets (9-6, 4-2) at TowneBank Arena.
DeVeaux sank all nine of his free throws for VWU, which trailed 25-14. The Marlins tied the game at 34 with 16:33 to go, and the score stayed close until VWU finished on an 18-5 surge.
Also for VWU, Malcolm Velmar had 12 points, and Amari Moorer had 11 points and nine rebounds. Jamarcus Brown led Lynchburg with 18 points.
Stanford 95, No. 14 North Carolina 90: Ebuka Okorie had 36 points, a Stanford freshman record, and nine assists for the Cardinal (14-4, 3-2), who rallied from 12 points down in the second half at home.
Okorie outdueled Tar Heels freshman star Caleb Wilson and helped the Cardinal knock off the Tar Heels (14-3, 2-2) for the second straight season as conference opponents. UNC had won all 13 meetings between the schools before coach Kyle Smith took over last season in Stanford’s first year in the ACC.
Dent-Smith and Agarwal each finished with 20 points as Stanford won despite playing without second-leading scorer Chisom Okpara, who is out with a lower-body injury. Wilson and Henri Veesaar each scored 26 for UNC.
Pittsburgh 89, Georgia Tech 66: Brandin Cummings scored 23 points and Barry Dunning Jr. added 17 in Atlanta as Pitt (8-9, 1-3 ACC) snapped a three-game losing streak.
Nojus Indrusaitis put up 16 points, Cameron Corhen added 15 points and Roman Siulepa scored 11 and added eight rebounds.
Kam Craft led Georgia Tech (10-8, 1-4) with 14 points, but the Yellow Jackets fell behind 12-2 and were down 45-26 at the half.
VCU 84, Rhode Island 75: Terrence Hill Jr. scored 19 points off the bench for VCU (12-6, 3-2 Atlantic 10) in a clash of Rams in Kingston, Rhode Island. Jadrian Tracey scored 17 points for VCU, and Ahmad Nowell scored 10 of his 14 in the second half for VCU.
URI (10-8, 1-4) was led by Tyler Cochran, who finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
Down 40-29 late in the first half, URI pulled even, only to see VCU go on a 12-3 run for a 63-54 edge and stay ahead.Richmond 74, La Salle 53: AJ Lopez scored 18 points for the Spiders (13-5, 3-2) at Robins Center, while Mike Walz had 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Jonathan Beagle had 13 points and shot 6 of 7 from the field for UR, which led for the final 35 1/2 minutes.
Jaeden Marshall finished with 18 points for the Explorers (5-13, 1-4).
Radford 89, Gardner-Webb 80: Del Jones scored 27 points for the Highlanders (10-9, 3-1 Big South) in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Teammate Dennis Parker Jr. scored 17 points and added 11 rebounds, and Jaylon Johnson finished with 16 points and six rebounds.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs (2-17, 0-4) were led by D.J. Jefferson, who posted 21 points.
Holy Cross 82, Army 75: Tyler Boston’s 20 points and five assists led the Crusaders (8-10, 3-2 Patriot League) in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Jaxson Bell led the Black Knights (7-11, 1-4) with 20 points and eight rebounds. Fellow reserve Jackson Furman added 18 points and three steals
No. 5 Purdue 79, Iowa 72: Braden Smith scored all 16 of his points in the second half and tied the Big Ten record for assists in conference play, and the host Boilermakers (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) overcame a nine-point deficit and win their eighth straight game. They have won their first six conference games for only the fifth time since 1940.Smith finished with 478 assists in league games, equaling former Michigan State player Cassius Winston. Bennett Stirtz had 19 points to lead Iowa (12-5, 2-4).
Texas 80, No. 10 Vanderbilt 64: Matas Vokietaitis scored 22 points, Tramon Mark added 21, and host Texas (11-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) handed Vandy its first loss. Dailyn Swain had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Longhorns.
Duke Miles led Vanderbilt with 21 points and Tyler Tanner had 17, but the Commodores shot just 26.7% from the field in the second half, finishing the game at 36.7%.
No. 13 Illinois 79, Northwestern 68: Keaton Wagler scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half as the visiting Illini (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) earned their season-high sixth consecutive victory. Jayden Reid led Northwestern (8-9, 0-6) with a career-high 28 points, including 20 in the second half, but the Wildcats lost their fourth game in a row.
No. 15 Texas Tech 88, Utah 74: JT Toppin had 31 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth consecutive double-double and Christian Anderson had 26 points and 10 assists for the Red Raiders (13-4, 3-1 Big 12) in Lubbock.
It was Toppin’s 11th double-double this season, his 30th in 49 games over two seasons with Tech since transferring from New Mexico. The 6-foot-9 junior forward also had seven assists and five blocks. Keanu Dawes and Don McHenry each had 18 points for the Utes (8-9, 0-4).
No. 17 Arkansas 108, South Carolina 74: Freshman Darius Acuff Jr. had 18 points and 13 assists, his third double-double of the season, in a home victory by the Razorbacks (13-4, 3-1 SEC) over the Gamecocks (10-7, 1-3) in Fayetteville.
Meleek Thomas led six Razorbacks in double figures with 21 points off the bench. Arkansas’ Nick Pringle, who played last season for South Carolina, set a season high with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Meechie Johnson paced the Gamecocks with 29 points.
Mississippi 97, No. 21 Georgia 95, OT: Patton Pinkins sank a follow-up shot with 1 second remaining in overtime in Athens despite Jeremiah Wilkinson’s season-high 32 points for the Bulldogs.
Marcus “Smurf” Millender made one of two free throws for Georgia (14-3, 2-2 SEC) with 10.2 seconds remaining in overtime to tie the game at 95. Following a miss by AJ Storr, who led Ole Miss (10-7, 2-2) with 27 points, Pinkins grabbed the rebound and sank the game-winning follow.
Pinkins scored 18 points. Kanon Catchings scored 17 points for Georgia, including a 3-pointer for a 94-91 lead.
Women
Guilford 59, Virginia Wesleyan 56: Taylor Dunn scored 20 points to help the Quakers (12-2, 3-2 ODAC) overcome the Marlins (8-6, 2-3) in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Brianna Long had 12 points and 17 rebounds for VWU. She gave the Marlins their final lead, 52-51, on a layup with 3:29 to go. Anna Giannopoulou’s jumper seven seconds later put Guilford ahead to stay. Keira Bagwell missed a 3-point try to tie as the clock struck zeroes.
Louisburg 69, Bryant & Stratton 60: The Bobcats (14-2, 9-1 conference) went to North Carolina and suffered a rare defeat. They’re ranked 13th in National Junior College Athletic Association Division II, while Louisburg is 25th.
No. 3 UCLA 76, Minnesota 58: Kiki Rice had 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting and Lauren Betts posted her third straight double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) in Minneapolis for the Bruins (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten). They pushed their winning streak to 10 since losing to No. 4 Texas in Las Vegas on Nov. 26.
UCLA shot 60% from the floor (27 for 45) against the top defensive team in the nation. Amaya Battle scored 16 for the Golden Gophers (12-5, 3-3),
No. 10 TCU 51, West Virginia 50: Marta Suarez hit a 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Horned Frogs (17-1, 5-1 Big 12) past the Mountaineers (14-4, 4-2) in Morgantown.
Suarez, who had missed her first five tries from beyond the arc, took an inbounds pass from Donovyn Hunter, set her feet and sank the winner.
Jordan Harrison led West Virginia (14-4, 4-2) with 19 points, while former Norfolk State star Kierra Wheeler had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
George Mason 59, Loyola Chicago 54: Zahirah Walton scored 25 points and Hampton High graduate Kennedy Harris had eight for the host Patriots (11-6), who improved to 6-0 in the Atlantic 10 for the first time. The Ramblers (6-11, 2-4) got 17 points from Alexa Kinas.
Rhode Island 46, VCU 41: URI (15-2, 6-0), paced by Brooklyn Gray’s 15 points and 11 rebounds, maintained its share of the Atlantic 10 lead by escaping VCU (6-12, 2-4) at Siegel Center.
Makennah White had 12 points for VCU, while Cyriah Griffin — who played for Princess Anne High, King’s Fork and Menchville — added 11.
Richmond 85, Dayton 67: Ally Sweeney posted her first college double-double (19 points and 13 rebounds) for the Spiders (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic 10) in Ohio, and Rachel Ullstrom netted 26 points. The Flyers fell to 9-8, 2-4.
Georgia Southern 66, Georgia State 55: Warhill High graduate McKenna Eddings, an Auburn transfer, led the Eagles (13-4, 6-1) to a Sun Belt victory in Atlanta over the Panthers (7-11, 2-4) with 17 points. She sank five 3-pointers.
Radford 53, Gardner-Webb 38: Joi Williams scored 21 points as the host Highlanders (10-9, 2-2 Big South) handled the Runnin’ Bulldogs (5-13, 2-2). Former Catholic High and William & Mary player Cate Carlson added nine points and five rebounds for Radford.
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