College basketball roundup Thursday’s games

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No. 3 Florida 62, Mississippi St 51

STARKVILLE, MISS.

Casey Prather scored 16 points, Patric Young added 12 and No. 3 Florida beat Mississippi State for its 12th straight win. The Gators (18-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) had a slow start on offense, but made up for it with suffocating defense. It was the 12th time this season Florida held an opponent to 60 points or fewer. Florida’s Michael Frazier II had just nine points, but his three 3-pointers helped the Gators keep a comfortable lead throughout most of the second half. Mississippi State (13-7, 3-4) lost for the first time at home in conference play.

No. 10 Michigan 75, Purdue 66

ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No. 10 Michigan beat Purdue, extending its winning streak to 10. Nik Stauskas scored 16 points and Derrick Walton added 14 for the Big Ten leaders. The Wolverines (16-4, 8-0) shot 61 percent from the field against a Purdue team that had held its previous five opponents under 42. The Boilermakers (13-8, 3-5) were led by A.J. Hammons, who had 16 points and eight rebounds.

No. 13 Cincinnati 69, No. 12 Louisville 66

LOUISVILLE, KY.

Sean Kilpatrick scored 28 points, including six free throws down the stretch that helped No. 13 Cincinnati rally over No. 12 Louisville. Unfazed despite blowing a 17-point lead in the second half, the first-place Bearcats (20-2, 9-0 American Athletic Conference) regrouped to hold the Cardinals (17-4, 6-2) to just two points over the final 5 minutes to win the conference showdown with a big hand from Kilpatrick. Down 64-61, Kilpatrick made two from the line before Justin Jackson’s tip-in gave Cincinnati the lead for good with 1:41 left.

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No. 2 Notre Dame 74, Virginia Tech 48

SOUTH BEND, IND.

Kayla McBride scored 18 points and Notre Dame held Virginia Tech to 27 percent shooting in a victory, the Fighting Irish’s 22nd straight home win. The Irish (20-0, 7-0) are off to their second best start, three victories shy of matching the 2000-01 start en route to a national championship. It was the most lopsided loss of the season for the Hokies (10-10, 0-7), who have lost eight straight.

No. 3 Duke 76, Miami 75

CORAL GABLES, FLA.

Elizabeth Williams converted one of two free throws with 1.7 seconds to lift No. 3 Duke to victory over upset-minded Miami (11-10, 3-5) on Thursday night. Tricia Liston scored 29 points for the Blue Devils (21-1, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Williams and Alexis Jones added 18 points apiece for Duke.

Syracuse 78, North Carolina 73

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

Brianna Butler scored 22 points to help Syracuse erase an 18-point deficit and beat No. 6 North Carolina (17-4, 5-2). Brittney Sykes had 17 points for the Orange (16-5, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed 50-32 with 18 minutes remaining. Briana Day scored 11 points for Syracuse. Butler scored 17 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer that put her team ahead 72-69 with 2:42 remaining.

No. 7 South Carolina 99, Mississippi 70

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Freshman Alaina Coates tied her career high with 24 points and added 12 rebounds as the front line for No. 7 South Carolina wore down Mississippi (10-12, 1-7) in a 99-70 victory Thursday night. The 6-foot-4 Coates had her seventh career double-double and fourth in Southeastern Conference play for the Gamecocks (19-2, 7-1).

No. 18 N.C. State 72, No. 8 Maryland 63

RALEIGH, N.C.

Myisha Goodwin-Coleman scored all 16 of her points after halftime, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:51 left, to help No. 18 North Carolina State beat No. 8 Maryland. Markeisha Gatling added 15 points for the Wolfpack (19-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who beat the Terrapins (16-4, 4-3) for the first time in four years.

No. 10 Tennessee 70, Arkansas 60

KNOXVILLE, TENN.

Cierra Burdick and Meighan Simmons each scored 16 points as No. 10 Tennessee shot 62.2 percent from the floor to beat Arkansas (15-6, 2-6 SEC) for its third consecutive victory. The Lady Vols (17-4, 6-2 SEC) shot 28 of 45 overall and 7 of 13 from 3-point range. Burdick matched a career high with her 16 points, and the 6-foot-2 junior also had seven rebounds and four assists. Isabelle Harrison had 12 points and Andraya Carter added 10 points.

No. 12 Penn State 75, No. 19 Purdue 72

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.

Maggie Lucas had 23 points and Ariel Edwards added 21 as No. 12 Penn State avenged its lone Big Ten loss by beating No. 19 Purdue. Penn State (16-4, 7-1 Big Ten) led 70-63 with 3:07 to go, but a 9-4 run by the Boilermakers cut the deficit to 74-72. Purdue sent Edwards to the free-throw line with 21 seconds left. She missed both which opened the door for Purdue (15-6, 5-4) to tie or win the game, but KK Houser missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left.

Georgia 58, No. 13 Kentucky 56

ATHENS, GA.

Merritt Hempe had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Khaalidah Miller added 11 points and Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) held off No. 13 Kentucky. Kentucky (16-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) began the game with the nation’s fifth-highest scoring average, but the Wildcats placed just one player — Samarie Walker with 10 points — in double figures.

No. 14 LSU 65, Mississippi State 56

BATON ROUGE, LA.

Shanece McKinney didn’t miss a shot en route to a career-high 19 points to lead No. 14 LSU to a win over Mississippi State. After making just 8 of 22 shots in the first half, when they trailed 26-21, the Tigers (17-4, 6-2 SEC) went 17 of 26 (63 percent) in the second half. Raigyne Moncrief added 17 points, and Jeanne Kenney had 13 points and seven assists for LSU.

Missouri 59, No. 16 Vanderbilt 54

COLUMBIA, MO.

Bri Kulas scored 15 points and Missouri held off a rally from No. 16 Vanderbilt for a victory. Kayla McDowell added 13 points and Morgan Stock had 11 for Missouri (14-7, 3-5 SEC). The Tigers took a 13-point lead into halftime before Vanderbilt (16-5, 5-3) rallied in the second half.

No. 17 Texas A&M 71, Auburn 54

AUBURN, ALA.

Courtney Williams scored 17 points, Karla Gilbert had 16 and Tori Scott 15 to lead No. 17 Texas A&M to a win over Auburn. The Aggies (17-5, 7-1 SEC) rebounded from a 76-55 loss to No. 10 Tennessee and improved to 4-0 in SEC games on the road. Courtney Walker finished with 13 points, five assists and four steals. Tyrese Tanner led Auburn (11-10, 2-6) with 15 points.

Associated Press