By Field Level Media
Nov 14 (Field Level Media) – Alex Wilkins made a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2.1 seconds left to lift No. 24 Kentucky past a pesky Northern Arizona squad 78-77 on Friday in Lexington, Ky.
A 22-loss team a year ago that was predicted to finish last in the Big Sky Conference preseason coaches and media polls, the Lumberjacks (0-4) had the Wildcats (3-1) on the ropes for most of the night. Northern Arizona led 77-73 after a Cade Bennett 3-pointer with 22 seconds left.
However, after making their first 10 free throws, the Lumberjacks missed their final two in the last 11 seconds. The last, a miss by Chris Komin on the front end of a one-and-one, allowed Wilkins to hit the game-winning shot. A half- court heave at the buzzer from Ryan Abelman hit off the backboard but missed.
Wilkins, Malachi Moreno and Milan Momcilovic all scored 14 points for Kentucky. Komin finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Northern Arizona.
No. 1 Florida 83, Merrimack 54
Alex Condon scored 16 points and Thomas Haugh added 15 to help the top-ranked Gators roll to a victory over the Warriors in Gainesville, Fla.
Rueben Chinyelu scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Alex Lloyd added 11 points for Florida (4-0). The Gators sank 21 of 22 free-throw attempts, while Merrimack attempted just two, making both.
AJ Lesburt Jr. made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points for Merrimack (1-3). Denver Anglin also made four treys while adding 14 points.
No. 2 Duke 90, SIU Edwardsville 47
Patrick Ngongba had 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five blocks to lead the Blue Devils to a rout of the Cougars in Durham, N.C.
Cayden Boozer tallied 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds for Duke (3-1), which had six players score in double figures.
Gianni Cobb paced SIU-Edwardsville (2-3) with nine points.
No. 3 Illinois 108, Sam Houston 86
Tomislav Ivisic drilled six 3-pointers on the way to scoring a career-best 28 points and Andrej Stojakovic added 26 points to lift the Fighting Illini past the Bearkats in Champaign, Ill.
Illinois (3-1) regrouped from a Tuesday loss at No. 16 Texas Tech after withstanding a test from Sam Houston (2-2). Ivisic and Stojakovic combined to shoot 20-for-37 from the field as the Illini hit 53.3% from the floor.
Justin Begg notched 19 points and 10 assists for the Bearkats, and Aidan McDowell also posted 19 points.
No. 4 UConn 84, Ohio State 68
Braylon Mullins scored 22 points and sank five 3-pointers and Na’jai Hines posted a career-high 20 points for the Huskies, who went on a second-half surge to top the Buckeyes in Hartford, Conn.
Colben Landrew added 12 points and Silas Demary Jr. had 10 points and nine assists for UConn (4-0). The Huskies shot a season-best 61.2% from the field, including 9 of 19 (47.4%) from 3-point range.
Jimmie Williams had 17 points, John Mobley Jr. added 16 and Amare Bynum put up 11 points for Ohio State (2-2).
No. 5 Michigan State 106, Northern Iowa 72
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 24 points and dished out nine assists and freshman Jasiah Jervis added 20 points to help the Spartans to a record-setting victory over the Panthers in East Lansing, Mich.
Jordan Scott and Coen Carr each contributed 11 points for Michigan State (4-0), which hit 18 3-pointers to set a school record. The old mark of 17 made was accomplished against Rutgers in 2016 and Purdue in 2014.
Greyson Uelmen led Northern Iowa (2-2) with 16 points. Jalen Wilson, Tate McCubbin and Levi Valdo each added 11 for the Panthers.
No. 6 Virginia 87, Maryland 83
Sam Lewis scored a career-high 28 points and the Cavaliers overcame a double- digit halftime deficit for a victory against the Terrapins in College Park, Md.
The Cavaliers (5-0) shot 62.3% from the field in their first road game of the season. Lewis finished 12 of 16 from the field, and Thijs De Ridder added 20 points.
Pharrel Payne scored 20 points, but Maryland (1-2) fell to 0-10 against ranked opponents under second-year head coach Buzz Williams.
No. 11 Tennessee 83, Tennessee State 78
Terrence Hill Jr. scored 19 points and added five rebounds and five assists as the Volunteers held off the Tigers for a victory in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee (3-0) led 42-37 at halftime and by as many as 15 points in the second half before holding off Tennessee State (2-2). Jalen Haralson scored 15 points as the Volunteers extended their nonconference home winning streak to 47 games.
Ty-Laur Johnson had a game-high 22 points while adding seven assists and five boards for the Tigers. Jayden Jones posted 13 points and nine rebounds.
No. 12 Arizona 80, Auburn 69
Caleb Holt had 24 points while Ivan Kharchenkov added 19 points as the Wildcats ended the nation’s longest active nonconference win streak with a victory over the Tigers.
Arizona (3-1) won its first road game against a Southeastern Conference team since 2016, the same year Auburn (2-1) last lost at home to a non-SEC school. The Tigers had won 69 consecutive nonconference games at Neville Arena.
Holt, a freshman who grew up in Alabama, also had nine rebounds and five steals. Auburn got 15 points from Thomas Dowd and 12 from Adam Olsen.
No. 17 Miami 94, North Alabama 52
The Hurricanes set program records with 13 made 3-pointers in the first half and 20 for the game as they routed the Lions in Coral Gables, Fla.
Brent Bland made five consecutive 3-pointers in the first half and was 8-for-13 from deep for the game as he finished with a game-high 26 points for Miami (3-1). Nick Dorn had 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from deep as the Hurricanes shot 20 of 47 (42.6%) from beyond the arc.
Cortez Graham-Howard led North Alabama (2-2) with 10 points.
No. 18 Alabama 82, Seton Hall 76
Amari Allen posted 24 points and five assists, Aden Holloway scored 18 points and the Crimson Tide fought past the Pirates in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Cole Cloer added 12 points for the Crimson Tide (4-0). Alabama ended the first half on a 16-0 run and led by 13 with 3:38 to play before the Pirates (3-1) used a 10-0 stretch to make the Tide sweat the result.
Ilay Dolinski led Seton Hall with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench. Elijah Fisher added 14 points.
No. 19 Arkansas 79, Central Arkansas 66
Billy Richmond III scored a season-high 21 points and made a career-high three 3-pointers as the Razorbacks slipped past the Bears in Fayetteville, Ark.
Central Arkansas cut Arkansas’ 18-point lead to six before the Razorbacks pulled away for good. Jeremiah Wilkinson had 14 points and four 3-pointers for the Razorbacks (3-1).
Harry Beauchamp had 14 points and four 3-pointers and Luke Moore scored 12 points for the Bears (2-2).
No. 22 Vanderbilt 89, Prairie View A&M 62
Ace Glass III scored 19 points, Chandler Bing added a career-high 15 points and the Commodores strolled past the Panthers in Nashville, Tenn.
Tyler Tanner scored 14 points, T.O. Barrett added 12 and Bangot Dak grabbed 11 rebounds for Vanderbilt (4-0), which shot 56.7% from the field and outrebounded the Panthers 44-19.
Elijah Mitchell scored 15 points and Anthony Gause added 13 for Prairie View A&M (2-3).
(–Field Level Media)
