Kent State suffers 73-58 loss

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — Dionte Christmas scored 26 points and Craig Williams added 16 in his first start as Temple defeated Kent State 73-58 Monday night.

Williams, a 6-9 sophomore who had scored six points this season, shot 5-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

Tyree Evans scored 17 points and Al Fisher 13 for Kent State (7-7), which hit on 21 of 64 shots.

Temple (6-6) led 45-31 with 14:25 left before the Golden Flashes rallied to within 52-45 after consecutive 3-pointers by Evans.

The Owls then rattled off eight straight points, five by Christmas, to lead 60-45. Temple took its biggest lead, 68-52, with 4:12 remaining.

Wis.-Milwaukee 61, Valparaiso 47

MILWAUKEE — Avery Smith scored 22 points and Wisconsin-Milwaukee survived a cold-shooting first half.

The Panthers (9-5, 5-0) won their fourth straight. Tone Boyle added 10 points for Milwaukee.

The Crusaders (4-11, 1-3) lost for the 11th time in 13 games. Urule Igbavboa led Valparaiso with 12 points.

The Panthers, trailing 23-18 at halftime, outscored the Crusaders 11-2 to start the second period and go ahead for good at 29-25.

Milwaukee, which missed all 11 of its 3-point tries in the first half, nailed three 3-pointers in the scoring spurt, including one by Boyle to finish it off.

Loyola 62, Wis.-Green Bay 60

CHICAGO — J.R. Blount hit two free throws with 4.9 seconds left for Loyola of Chicago. The Phoenix and Ramblers traded momentum, with the score tied 11 times and the lead changing 13 times. Green Bay’s Troy Cotton tied the game with a 3-pointer with 34.7 seconds left. Blount was fouled by Rahmon Fletcher as he drove for the basket. He sank the two free throws and a 3-point try by Cotton missed as time expired.