Wednesday, February 15, 2017
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No. 13 Kentucky 83, Tennessee 58
LEXINGTON, KY.
Malik Monk had 20 points and a career-high eight rebounds, Derek Willis had 16 points and No. 13 Kentucky made 10 3-pointers in the first half to roll past Tennessee. Seeking to stay atop the Southeastern Conference, the Wildcats avenged last month’s 82-80 road loss to the Volunteers with their best performance in a while. Long-range shooting provided the biggest lift as Kentucky (21-5, 11-2) made 11, its first double-digit effort from behind the arc in a month, as Monk and Willis each made four in the first half alone. The Wildcats held Tennessee (14-12, 6-7) to 35 percent shooting and led by as many as 28 points in handing the Volunteers their third loss in four games. De’Aaron Fox had 13 points and six assists and Bam Adebayo grabbed 12 rebounds in Kentucky’s third straight win. Admiral Schofield had 17 points and Jordan Bone 15 for Tennessee, which was outrebounded 33-29.
No. 15 Florida 114, Auburn 95
AUBURN, ALA.
Canyon Barry scored a season-high 30 points for Florida. The Gators (21-5, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) also blew past their previous scoring high of 106 points en route to a seventh straight win. They dominated after going into halftime locked in a 50-50 tie, coming out of the locker room on a 13-3 run and never looking back. Florida shot 56 percent from the field and made 11 of 19 3-point attempts and 37 of 42 free throws. Auburn (16-10, 5-8) became the first team to reach its season average in regulation against the Gators, but couldn’t slow them down on the other end. The game was so dominated by offense that 13 players scored in double figures. Anfernee McLemore led Auburn with 19 points.
No. 16 Purdue 74, Rutgers 55
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.
Center Isaac Haas had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and power forward Caleb Swanigan added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Purdue. Purdue (21-5, 10-3 Big Ten) led only 45-39 with just over 12:30 remaining, but from the 11:15 mark until he left the game with 2:20 to play, Haas scored 16 points, and the Boilermakers pulled away for their fourth consecutive victory. Nigel Johnson scored 23 points to lead Rutgers (13-14, 2-12), which had no answer for Purdue’s big men. Purdue struggled with turnovers in the first half (8) and led 33-26 through 20 minutes when Johnson was 5 of 6 from the field, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, for 14 points, but the Scarlet Knights missed a chance to pull closer when the rest of their roster was 5 of 22 from the field. Haas had eight first-half points for Purdue, and Dakota Mathias and Carsen Edwards each added six.
No. 25 Notre Dame 84, Boston College 76
BOSTON
Bonzie Colson scored 20 points and Matt Farrell had 19 as Notre Dame overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to send Boston College to its 10th straight loss. V.J. Beachem had 16 points and Steve Vasturia added 15 for the Fighting Irish (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). It is coach Mike Brey’s 13th time winning at least 20 games with Notre Dame. Ky Bowman led Boston College (9-18, 2-12) with 29 points and Mo Jeffers had 12. BC had sliced it to 78-76 on Bowman’s two free throws with just under a minute to play, but Beachem grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on the ensuing possession. He hit both free throws with 24.1 seconds to play.
WOMEN
Central Florida 66, No. 22 South Florida 62
TAMPA, FLA.
Aliyah Gregory scored a career-high 34 points and surpassed 1,000 career points, and Central Florida had a 15-point, second-half lead then held off No. 22 South Florida. The Knights snapped a 19-game losing streak against South Florida. It was the first win since 1980 against the Bulls, and the first in Tampa. UCF led 43-28 and had a double-digit lead for most of the third quarter. The Bulls pulled to 62-60 with 2:23 left, and Gregory converted a 3-point play to make it 65-62. The Bulls’ Kitija Laksa, who finished with 10 points, missed a deep 3-pointer with 45.4 seconds to go. After a timeout, the Knights ran down the shot clock before Zykira Lewis missed a driving layup, but Fifi Ndour grabbed the offensive board and passed the ball to Gregory to seal it. Lewis finished with 12 points for Central Florida (16-9, 6-6 American).
Associated Press