Monday’s college basketball games

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No. 14 North Carolina 83, Notre Dame 66

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

Theo Pinson scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime to go with 10 rebounds, helping No. 14 North Carolina pull away late to beat Notre Dame. Joel Berry II added 21 points for the Tar Heels (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who closed a tough stretch with their third game in five days. The first two were emotional rivalry wins, the first coming at home against Duke and Saturday’s coming at North Carolina State. This time, UNC needed a 13-0 burst in the final 5 1/2 minutes to finally get some separation against a team that just kept hanging around. Top scorer Luke Maye struggled to just eight points on 3-for-11 shooting after scoring 33 at N.C. State. But UNC still shot 57 percent after halftime for a fourth straight win. Martinas Geben and John Mooney each scored 18 points for the Fighting Irish (15-11, 5-8).

No. 20 West Virginia 82, TCU 66

MORGANTOWN, W.VA.

Teddy Allen scored 16 points, giving No. 20 West Virginia a needed spark off the bench in a victory over TCU. James “Beetle” Bolden added 14 points, Daxter Miles Jr. scored 13 and Wes Harris had 11 points for West Virginia (19-7, 8-5 Big 12). Desmond Bane had 16 points, Vlad Brodziansky added 15 and Kouat Noi scored 12 for TCU (17-9, 5-8). West Virginia has had trouble holding onto leads throughout the Big 12 season but didn’t let the Horned Frogs come back from a 38-27 halftime deficit. TCU twice closed within five in the second half, but went without a field goal over a crucial four-minute stretch and West Virginia capitalized with a rare strong finish. The Mountaineers outscored the Horned Frogs 15-7 over the final three minutes. With less-than-stellar games from leading scorer Jevon Carter and shot-blocking specialist Sagaba Konate, West Virginia overcame a sluggish start with sparks from reserves Allen, Bolden and Maciej Bender to move ahead for good late in the first half. West Virginia’s 38 bench points were its most in a Big 12 game this season.

WOMEN

No. 1 UConn 69, No. 4 Louisville 58

STORRS, CONN.

Katie Lou Samuelson scored 26 points and top-ranked UConn used an early run to beat No. 4 Louisville. Napheesa Collier added 14 points and Gabby Williams had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Huskies (25-0), who won their 76th consecutive home game and ended Louisville’s 13-game road winning streak. Louisville (25-2) scored the first three points and UConn rattled of 19 straight. Samuelson had seven points during that game-changing burst. By the time Jazmine Jones’ reverse layup went in just before the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals were down 22-6 much to the delight of the sellout crowd of just over 10,000 fans. It didn’t get much better for the Cardinals in the second quarter as they trailed 42-22 at the half. UConn’s star junior had 19 points at the break. Louisville was only able to get within 11 in the final 20 minutes. Every run the Cardinals tried to make in the second half, Samuelson was there to answer it. She finished short of her season-high 33. Asia Durr missed her first five shots before finishing with 20 points to lead the Cardinals.

No. 13 Missouri 84, Arkansas 58

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.

Sophie Cunningham scored 18 points with four 3-pointers, Jordan Frericks had 15 points and eight rebounds, and No. 13 Missouri beat Arkansas. For the first time since 1984-87, Missouri (20-5, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) has three straight seasons with 20-plus victories. Jordan Chavis added 12 points off the bench for the Tigers, who shot 51.7 percent from the floor with 11 3-pointers. Hannah Schuchts scored 10. Missouri made 9 of its first 10 shots, including 6 of 7 from distance, to take a 31-10 lead. It was 49-29 at halftime after shooting 60 percent from the field and the Tigers led by 31 with 4:31 to go in the game. Jailyn Mason scored 15 points and Bailey Zimmerman added 14 for Arkansas (12-13, 3-9), which fell to the Tigers 88-54 on Jan. 21. The game originally scheduled for Sunday was postponed due to the Tigers’ weather-related travel issues.

Associated Press