VCU bolted to a 14-point lead Friday and had a big opportunity to boost its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes, but No. 18 Saint Louis emphatically slammed the door with an 88-72 home triumph Friday that featured a benches-emptying incident in the final seconds before a sellout crowd of 10,223.
The Billikens (25-2, 13-1) ended VCU’s 10-game winning streak, moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rams (21-7, 12-3) and hold a tiebreaker by virtue of a two-game sweep. The Rams had won 42 consecutive games that they led by double digits, but Saint Louis overwhelmed them in the second half as Kellen Thames scored 16 points for the Billikens.
A Billiken was dribbling out the final seconds near center court when, with just more than three seconds remaining, VCU’s Nyk Lewis stole the ball from behind and threw up a 3-point shot from halfcourt before being bumped into the broadcast table by the Billikens’ Robbie Avila. That prompted members of both teams to charge off their benches and set off a scrum on the court with 1.1 seconds left.
Staff from both teams rushed to break up the scuffle, and officials disqualified VCU’s Barry Evans and Saint Louis’ Quentin Jones, along with nearly all bench players from both teams.
The teams returned to the court and Lewis converted three free throws before time expired.
Amari McCottry, Avila and former Virginia Cavalier Ishan Sharma added 13 points apiece for Saint Louis, which bounced back after suffering its first conference loss Tuesday at Rhode Island. The Billikens have won 20 straight at Chaifetz Arena.
Lazar Djokovic had 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and Brandon Jennings had 18 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Rams.
VCU led 59-57 before yielding a 13-0 run. The Rams were 8 of 15 from 3-point territory in the first half but missed their first 13 long-distance shots in the second.
No. 7 Purdue 93, Indiana 64: Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 20 points and Braden Smith added 15 points and eight assists, helping Purdue produce a historic rout at home to earn a split in this season’s series.
The Boilermakers emphatically ended their two-game losing streak against the Hoosiers by producing their highest point total in the series since scoring 94 points in 1998. It was their largest victory margin in the series since a 44-point shellacking in 1969.
Fletcher Loyer and Omer Mayer each scored 18 points for Purdue (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten). Lamar Wilkerson scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead Indiana (17-10, 9-7).,
No. 22 Miami of Ohio 91, Bowling Green 77: Luke Skaljac scored a career-high 22 points, Eian Elmer had 21 and the RedHawks remained the lone unbeaten team in Division I.
The RedHawks (27-0, 14-0 Mid-American Conference) extended their home winning streak to 30, tying Duke for the nation’s longest. Javontae Campbell led Bowling Green (16-12, 7-8) with 24 points. Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett was among the sellout crowd 10,127 at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio.
New South Athletic Conference quarterfinals
Apprentice 70, South Carolina Central Christian 58: The second-seeded Builders (14-8), who are hosting all seven games in the tournament in Newport News, earned a berth in Saturday’s 5 p.m. semifinal against third-seeded Atlantis of Miami, which ousted No. 6 South Carolina Central Christian 74-58.
Apprentice is ranked seventh and Atlantis eighth in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association Division I coaches’ poll.
Jahlil Hope and Devon Brown each had 14 points to help Apprentice beat MACU, located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, for the third time this season. Wayne Hedgepeth and Shamon Rosser had 10 points each.
On the other half of the bracket, No. 4 Beacon of Leesburg, Florida, edged No. 5 Lighthouse Christian of Pensacoloa, Florida, 97-93 in overtime and No. 1 Urbe, from the Miami area, defeated No. 8 Southeast Christian of Leesburg, Florida, 75-55.
The Urbe-Beacon semifinal is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and the championship game will be at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The NSAC women’s semifinals will precede the men’s games. Millennia will face No. 2 Atlantis at noon, followed by South Carolina Central Christian against top-seeded Apprentice at 2:30.
Women
Monmouth 63, William & Mary 58: Despite 11 points off the bench from former Smithfield High star Dynasti Pierce, the Tribe (13-11, 6-7 Coastal Athletic Association) lost to the Hawks (17-8, 10-4) before 1,067 at Kaplan Arena.
W&M trimmed a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to five. Monet Dance had 10 points and five assists, Cassidy Geddes and Natalie Fox each had nine points, and Alexa Mikeska grabbed 10 rebounds.
Monmouth was led by Divine Dibula’s 22 points and GiGi Gamble’s 20.
