college basketball Thursday’s Top 25 games

MEN

No. 7 Syracuse 85, No. 10 Florida 73

TAMPA, Fla. — Rick Jackson scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, helping Syracuse remain unbeaten in the SEC/Big East Invitational. Andy Rautins had 18 points and Wes Johnson finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Orange (9-0). Reserve Kris Joseph contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds against the previously unbeaten Gators (8-1). Syracuse led most of the game, but Florida stayed close by making 12 3-pointers. Kenny Boynton made five 3s and led the Gators with 20 points and seven assists. Chandler Parsons scored 19 and Erving Walker added 14.

No. 12 Michigan St. 88, Oakland, Mich. 57

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Draymond Green scored a career-high 19 points and matched his best effort with 12 rebounds to lead Michigan State. Green hit his first nine shots from the field and finished 9 of 11. He had 16 points and seven rebounds as the Spartans (8-2) took a 44-21 halftime lead. Kalin Lucas had 19 points and Delvon Roe added 11 for the Spartans, who blew the game open with a 25-3 run early in the first half. Keith Benson had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Grizzlies (4-5). Johnathon Jones, last seasons NCAA assist leader, had nine points, two assists and four turnovers.

No. 19 Cincinnati 63, Miami, Ohio 59

CINCINNATI — Lance Stephenson scored a season-high 17 points and fellow freshman Cashmere Wright added 12 as Cincinnati held off Miami. The Bearcats (6-1) won their second straight game after their first loss of the season, 61-59 in overtime against Gonzaga on Nov. 25. Cincinnati, which has won 11 straight in the in-state series, hadn’t played since beating Texas Southern 94-57 on Dec. 1. Kenny Hayes had 19 points for Miami, while Nick Winbush and Julian Mavunga each added 13. The RedHawks (2-7) have lost three straight and were playing the second of three games in six days. Stephenson’s previous high was 16 points in a 92-68 win over Toledo in the second game of the season on Nov. 18. Wright matched the season-high 12 points he scored in a 69-62 season-opening win over Prairie View A&M two days earlier. There were scattered boos early in the first half when a photo of former Bearcats football coach Brian Kelly was shown on the videoboard.

WOMEN

No. 1 Connecticut 80, Hartford 45

STORRS, Conn. — Maya Moore scored 22 points and top-ranked Connecticut cruised, extending its winning streak to 47 games. The junior passed Swin Cash into 12th place on the school’s scoring list with a 3-pointer 6 minutes into the second half. She also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals while playing just 25 minutes. Caroline Doty had 13 points, Tiffany Hayes had 12 and Tina Charles added 10 points for the Huskies (8-0). Diana Delva led Hartford with 13 points. The Hawks, (5-2) coached by former UConn point guard Jen Rizzotti, beat a ranked Louisville team earlier this season and its only other loss came to Providence. The Huskies are 11-0 against the Hawks and have beaten them by an average of 26 points in each game. Auriemma’s teams are 25-0 against in-state competition.

No. 17 Vanderbilt 75, Quinnipiac 74

HAMDEN, Conn. — Jence Rhoads made a short jumper with 36 seconds left for the winning basket and Vanderbilt rallied from 16 points down. Rhoads and Merideth Marsh had 17 points apiece for Vanderbilt (9-1). Tiffany Clarke added 14 points and sank two free throws with 6 seconds to play to give the Commodores a 75-71 lead. Quinnipiac’s Kathleen Neyens hit a 3-pointer as time expired. Neyens, who finished with a team-high 15 points, claimed she was fouled on the shot but there was no call. Quinnipiac, hosting a nationally ranked team for the first time in school history, hit its first four 3-point shots and raced out to a 29-13 lead.

No. 23 Kansas 81, UMKC 53

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Krysten Boogaard scored 19 points and Danielle McCray had 18 points as Kansas easily defeated UMKC. McCray, who entered the game averaging 19.4 points, paced Kansas with a mix of inside shots and 3-pointers. She scored 14 first-half points in helping Kansas build a 12-point lead at the break. Angel Goodrich had 10 assists for Kansas (6-2). The Jayhawks made 50 percent of their shots and outscored the Kangaroos 38-14 in the paint. A sluggish start and turnovers allowed UMKC to remain close early, but that didn’t last long. Kansas ran away with the game in the second half, using a 13-3 run to build a 22-point lead before UMKC took a timeout. Chazny Morris led UMKC with 22 points.

Towson 67, No. 25 Maryland 55

TOWSON, Md. — Shanae Baker-Brice scored 25 points and Towson stunned Maryland to end the Terrapins’ five-game winning streak. The defeat was particularly galling for Maryland (8-2) because it came against a crosstown rival and occurred only three days after the young Terrapins entered the Top 25 for the first time this season. Maryland shot 34 percent, went 5 for 20 from 3-point range, 8 for 18 at the foul line and had 18 turnovers. Kim Rodgers scored 15 for the Terrapins, who are 8-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. Towson (5-4) never trailed after taking a 24-23 lead late in the first half. Baker-Brice went 8 for 13 from the floor and had seven assists.

Associated Press