The James Madison women overcame Old Dominion 77-55 Wednesday before 2,068 in Harrisonburg, as the Dukes (22-8, 13-4 Sun Belt) beat the Monarchs (17-13, 8-9) for the 14th straight time in their Royal Rivalry and the second time this season.
Lake Taylor High graduate Ashanti Barnes’ 19 points, 14 rebounds and three steals led JMU against the team for which she began college. Peyton McDaniel had 19 points, Bree Robinson 15 points and Princess Anne High graduate Zakiya Stephenson seven points and five assists for JMU.
Simaru Fields, who had 14 points and four rebounds off the bench, was ODU’s only double-digit scorer. Riley Stack had four blocks, eight points and eight rebounds, but ODU couldn’t overcome 35% shooting (23 of 65).
JMU went on a 9-0 run for a 12-7 edge and led thereafter.
ODU will close the regular season at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Appalachian State.
Randolph-Macon 68, Virginia Wesleyan 47: The Marlins’ best season in recent years ended at 14-12 with a loss in Ashland to the Yellow Jackets (20-6) in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinal.
McKenzie Matheny’s 24 points and 16 rebounds sparked R-MC, which shot 56% (15 of 27) in the second half.
VWU’s Brianna Long had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Maesyn Blaylock had 10 points and Sydney Turner added nine points.
Starting in the second quarter, R-MC gradually increased the lead to 52-39. VWU scored five straight points to pull to 52-44, but a 9-0 Jackets run then proved decisive.
Also in the first round, top-seeded Washington and Lee ousted Roanoke 73-55, host Bridgewater downed Hollins 57-47 and Shenandoah edged Guilford 61-60.
Richmond 72, Rhode Island 46: Sophomore Alicia Newell scored a career-high 20 points as the Spiders (24-6, 14-3 Atlantic 10) scored an eye-popping romp over the Rams (24-4, 15-2) in UR’s home finale at Robins Center. The Spiders have gone undefeated in A-10 home games for three consecutive seasons.
Rhode Island, coached by former Virginia star guard Tammi Reiss, fell into a first-place tie with George Mason, with UR a game behind in third.
George Mason 85, Saint Joseph’s 59: The Patriots (20-8, 15-2) climbed into a tie atop the Atlantic 10 as Zahirah Walton scored 29 points in Fairfax against the Hawks (19-9, 10-7). Hampton High graduate Kennedy Harris added 15 points and sank 6 of 7 free throws.
La Salle 71, VCU 54: Aryss Macktoon had 28 points, 10 rebounds and four steals as the Explorers (16-12, 9-8 Atlantic 10) easily beat the Rams (8-21, 4-13) at Siegel Center. VCU lost despite Katarina Kneževic’s 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Radford 95, Presbyterian 54: Joi Williams became the 25th Highlander ever to score 1,000 career points, collecting 18 in a home victory to reach 1,003.
Georgia Simonsen had 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting as the Highlanders (19-11, 11-4 Big South) ripped the Blue Hose (3-25, 1-14).
Longwood 96, Charleston Southern 69: Graduate guard Malea Brown scored a career-high 25 points and canned five 3-pointers to help the Lancers (19-9, 10-5 Big South) win their regular-season home finale and end a three-game skid.
The Buccaneers (8-20, 6-9) placed four in double digits, led by Tyonna Bailey with 18 points.
No. 8 Michigan 88, No. 13 Ohio State 86, OT: Olivia Olson scored a career-high 31 points, including a driving jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining in overtime, for the Wolverines (23-5, 14-3 Big Ten) in Columbus. She also had nine rebounds and four assists.
Chance Gray of Ohio State ((23-6, 12-5) hit a 30-footer on the ensuing trip down the floor, but video showed that the senior did not get her shot off until after the buzzer.
Men
No. 6 Connecticut 72, No. 15 St. John’s 40: Tarris Reed Jr. had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and UConn (26-3, 16-2 Big East) held St. John’s (22-6, 15-2) to 20% shooting in Hartford to snap the Red Storm’s 13-game winning streak.
Alex Karaban added 14 points and five rebounds for the Huskies, who moved back into first place in the Big East by avenging an 81-72 loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6.
It was by far the largest defeat for the Johnnies in three seasons under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
No. 7 Florida 84, Texas 71: Alex Condon scored 23 points, Boogie Fland had 22 and Florida gained its eighth consecutive victory.
Florida (22-6, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) has won seven straight SEC road games. The Gators have outscored their last eight opponents by an average of 20.5 points, rounding into form as they seek to defend their national title.
The Longhorns (17-11, 8-7), led by Dailyn Swain’s 21 points, went without a field goal for the final 7:27.
No. 9 Gonzaga 89, Portland 48: Graham Ike scored 19 points and matched a school record with seven steals as Gonzaga clinched its first West Coast Conference regular-season championship in three years.
Braeden Smith added 15 points for the host Bulldogs (28-2, 16-1), who avenged their 87-80 loss at Portland on Feb. 4. Joel Foxwell led the Pilots (12-18, 5-12) with 12 points.
No. 12 Nebraska 74, Maryland 61: Braden Frager scored 21 points off the bench to lead four Nebraska players in double figures as the Cornhuskers won in Lincoln.
The Huskers (24-4) improved to 13-4 in Big Ten play, matching their program record for conference wins and moving them into a tie for second place with Illinois.
Andre Mills had 16 of his 19 points in the second half for the Terrapins (11-17, 4-13).
No. 17 Alabama 100, Mississippi State 75: Amari Allen scored 23 points, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 18, and the Crimson Tide (21-7, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) hit a season-high 16 3s in the first half. It was the ninth consecutive game Alabama has made at least 10 3-point baskets.
The Crimson Tide led 66-33 at halftime and pulled ahead by 39, knocking down 22 3-pointers (22 for 50), the most by an SEC team in conference play this season.
Josh Hubbard of MSU (13-15, 5-10), who entered the game as the SEC’s leading scorer at 22 points per game, scored 11.
No. 20 Arkansas 99, Texas A&M 84: Billy Richmond III scored 23 points for the Razorbacks (21-7, 11-4 SEC), who capitalized on 13 first-half turnovers by the visiting Aggies (19-8, 9-6).
Richmond, who shot 8 of 13 from the floor and has scored 20 points or more in the last four games, had 15 points in the first half.
Zach Clemence came off the bench to score 29 for Texas A&M.
No. 25 Vanderbilt 88, Georgia 80: Devin McGlockton had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season as Vanderbilt won at home.
Tyler Tanner also scored 17 for the Commodores (22-6, 9-6 SEC), who led by 20 in the first half before Georgia stormed back to tie the game midway through the second.
Jeremiah Wilkinson made five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points off the bench to lead the Bulldogs (19-9, 7-8).
James Madison 82, Georgia Southern 66: Cliff Davis had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Dukes (17-13, 9-8 Sun Belt) in Harrisonburg as they won their sixth game in a row. Preston Fowler scored 20 points and added 11 rebounds, helping JMU pull away in the second half after trailing for most of the first 20 minutes.
Tyren Moore led the Eagles (15-15, 7-10) with 20 points, four assists and four steals.
Saint Joseph’s 81, George Mason 63: Derek Simpson had 23 points, eight assists and three steals for the Hawks (18-10, 10-5 Atlantic 10) in Philadelphia. Jaiden Glover scored 21 points for Saint Joseph’s, which led for the final 33-plus minutes, including 44-25 at the half.
Riley Allenspach finished with 23 points for the Patriots (21-7, 9-6).
Virginia State 76, Lincoln (Pennsylvania) 60: Jacob Cooper led the Trojans (20-9) in their CIAA Tournament quarterfinal as they beat the Lions (10-20) in Baltimore. The senior from Green Run High had 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
VSU, the North Division’s top seed, will face Thursday’s Claflin-Bluefield State victor in a semifinal at 2 p.m. Friday.
Stanford 75, Pittsburgh 67: Freshman Ebuka Okorie scored 34 points, his sixth 30-point game of the season, and Stanford rallied from a 63-57 deficit at home.
Okorie, who produced a 28-point second half, added six rebounds, six assists and three steals while going 9 for 9 from the free-throw line.
Pitt (10-18, 3-12) was led by Cameron Corhen’s 22 points and eight rebounds.
California 73, SMU 69: Justin Pippen scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half for the Golden Bears (20-8, 8-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) against the Mustangs (19-9, 8-7) in Berkeley.
Pippen hit a jumper and four free throws during an 8-2 run that gave Cal a 72-69 edge with 12 seconds left.
Jermaine O’Neal Jr. missed a 3-point shot for SMU on the next possession, and Lee Dort added another free throw for Cal to seal it.
Boopie Miller and Corey Washington scored 15 apiece to lead SMU.
Boston College 68, Wake Forest 67: Fred Payne scored 23 points, and Aidan Shaw tipped in a miss with five-tenths of seconds remaining as BC (10-18, 3-12 ACC) snapped an eight-game losing streak by edging the Demon Deacons (14-14, 5-10). Juke Harris scored a career-high 38 for Wake.
Landstown High graduate Donald Hand Jr., playing his first game in two weeks, had five points in nine minutes off the Eagles’ bench as he returned from a knee injury.
BC took a 64-56 lead with 1:42 remaining, but the Eagles didn’t make another field goal until Shaw’s game-winner. Harris gave Wake its first lead of the second half with 18.8 seconds left in the game after back-to-back 3-pointers following a BC turnover.
Navy 78, Loyola Maryland 51: Jinwoo Kim scored 25 points and Austin Benigni had 22 in Baltimore as the Patriot League regular-season champion Midshipmen (24-6, 16-1) earned their 12th win in a row. Aidan Kehoe had 10 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
Emmett Adair led the Greyhounds (11-19, 7-10) with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Bucknell 75, Army 73: Amon Dorries scored 23 points and Achile Spadone added 21, including two free throws with 6.9 seconds left, as the visiting Bison (9-21, 6-11 Patriot League) ended a five-game slide.
Kevin McCarthy and Tate Laczkowski led the Black Knights (11-19, 5-12) with 21 points apiece. Jaxson Bell finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and five steals.
