college basketball | Sunday’s men’s games

TOP 25

Florida State 55, No. 23 Miami 54

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Montay Brandon scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting, and Florida State rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit. The Hurricanes’ Sheldon McClellan missed a floater in the lane as time expired. Brandon had 12 of his points in the second half to spark the rally for Florida State (12-10, 4-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). Kiel Turpin added 10 points for the Seminoles, who shot 53.7 percent. Turpin put Florida State ahead for good with a baby hook with 1:41 left. McClellan led the Hurricanes (14-7, 4-4) with 13 points, and Davon Reed had 11 points and six rebounds. But Miami, which led 36-25 at the break, shot 6 of 19 in the second half and scored only 18 points.

No. 11 Utah 67, Southern California 39

LOS ANGELES

Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Utah crushed Southern California. Delon Wright added 11 points and five rebounds and Jordan Loveridge scored 10 points for the Utes (17-4, 7-2 Pac-12). Utah was up 32-12 at halftime and led by as many as 29 points in the second half. Eleven different players scored for the Utes, who never trailed. Malik Martin scored 11 points to lead the Trojans (9-12, 1-8 Pac-12). USC shot just 26.5 percent, including 1 of 12 from 3-point range, to lose its sixth straight. It was the Trojans’ largest margin of defeat this season.

OTHERS

Michigan State 76, Michigan 66, OT

EAST LANSING, MICH.

Denzel Valentine had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Michigan State held rival Michigan scoreless in overtime. With two of their best players on crutches, the Wolverines (13-9, 6-4 Big Ten) pushed Michigan State throughout, but the Spartans (15-7, 6-3) shook off some poor early shooting and finally put Michigan away in the extra session. Branden Dawson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello scored 10 points each for Michigan State. Spike Albrecht and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 18 points each for Michigan, which was without injured guards Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton. Zak Irvin added 11 points for the Wolverines. Michigan State shot 29 percent in the first half and 71 percent in the second.

East Carolina 50, Cincinnati 46

GREENVILLE, N.C.

B.J. Tyson scored 18 points and East Carolina came back from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Cincinnati. It’s the first time in nine all-time tries East Carolina (9-12, 2-6 American) has beaten Cincinnati. The Pirates trailed 46-39 with 3:23 left but scored the last 11 points of the game as the Bearcats missed their last four shots. Scoring was at a premium in the first half, as both teams had just one basket over the first 4:50. Once they got warmed up, Cincinnati made five shots in a row and led 15-8 at the midway mark, then scored the last six points of the half to lead 23-18 at the break. Octavius Ellis recorded his first career Division I double-double with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for Cincinnati (15-6, 6-3). Ellis was 5 of 6 from the floor and 4 of 4 at the line.

Houston 70, Connecticut 68

HOUSTON

Jherrod Stiggers scored 18 points, including two free throws with four seconds left that finally put it out of reach, and Houston beat Connecticut. Connecticut’s Ryan Boatright had 26 of his career-high 31 points in the last 7:51 of the game. Five times his score brought UConn within three, but Houston replied every time. Boatright’s 3-pointer with 1:08 made it 64-61, but L.J. Rose answered with a layup to put it back to five. After Boatright’s layup with four seconds left made it 68-65, he fouled Stiggers and the Houston guard made both for a five-point game again. Houston (9-12, 1-8 American) led the entire game. Rose and Devonta Pollard finished with 12 points apiece and LeRon Barnes added 11 points. Connecticut (11-9, 4-4) outrebounded the Cougars 51-35, but Houston committed just one turnover in the game. Amida Brimah had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Huskies.

Dayton 101, Fordham 77

DAYTON

Jordan Sibert had a career-high 29 points and Dayton starters scored every point except a late 3-pointer. Kendall Pollard had five dunks and 22 points, Dyshawn Pierre added 20 points, Kyle Davis 16 and Scoochie Smith 11 for the Flyers (17-4, 7-2 Atlantic 10), who have won 17 straight home games and 10 straight over the Rams. Dayton shot 61.5 percent (32 of 52) with nine 3s and made 28 of 34 free throws. Darrell Davis knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:15 to go for the only points off the bench. Eric Paschall led Fordham (5-14, 0-8) with 19 points, Jon Severe had 17 and Mandell Thomas 15. Fordham shot 45.5 percent but made just 3 of 18 behind the arc. The last time Dayton broke the century mark was a 105-79 win over Coastal Carolina on Dec. 11, 1999.

California 90, Washington 88

SEATTLE

Sam Singer hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with five seconds left to lift California. Singer’s shot came after Nigel Williams-Goss gave Washington an 88-87 lead, its first since early in the first half, with a short jumper at 19.5 seconds. California, led by Jordan Mathews’ 23 points and Tyrone Wallace’s 21, had fended off the Huskies for most of the second half.

Associated Press