Jalen Brunson scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and No. 4 Villanova held off Providence 66-57 on Wednesday night in Providence, R.I., to sweep the season series from the Friars.
Josh Hart added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (21-2, 8-2 Big East), who led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Providence turned up its defensive pressure and made a late run.
A long 3-pointer by Providence freshman Alpha Diallo cut the deficit to 59-57 with just more than two minutes left and brought the crowd to its feet.
The Friars had a chance to get closer after Brunson was called for traveling with just under a minute remaining and the Wildcats up by four. But the sophomore guard stole the ball on the other end and completed a three-point play that put the game out of reach.
Indiana 110, Penn State 102, 3OT
Indiana needed three career-high scoring efforts to extend a Big Ten game nearly lost twice to beat Penn State 110-102 in triple-overtime on Wednesday night in Bloomington, Ind.
Sophomore center Thomas Bryant scored 31 points, eight more than his previous best, and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Hoosiers (15-8, 5-5).
Josh Newkirk and Robert Johnson also set personal bests with 27 points apiece.
Newkirk hit a go-ahead 3-pointer for a 98-95 lead with 3:05 remaining in 3OT. The Nittany Lions (12-11, 4-6) then lost their composure as Indiana freshman guard Devonte Green stole the ensuing inbounds pass and scored on a layup for a five-point lead.
The Hoosiers led by as many as 10 points in the final overtime.
Penn State freshman guard Lamar Stevens had a career-high 26 points.
It’s the second time in recent weeks that Penn State has had to accept such an emotionally draining loss.
Just two weeks ago, the Hoosiers’ James Blackmon Jr. sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 78-75 road win over Penn State.
But Blackmon is now sidelined indefinitely by a lower leg injury, and another key Indiana cog, forward OG Anunoby, is out for the season with a knee injury.
This time, Penn State was in position to win the game at the end of regulation as well as the first overtime. But Indiana freshman forward De’Ron Davis sank two free throws to tie it at 72-all with 3.9 seconds remaining in regulation. Then Newkirk’s driving layup at the buzzer, eventually counted after a lengthy video review, tied the game at 80 at the end of the first overtime.
At the end of the second overtime, Penn State freshman guard Tony Carr sank a pair of foul shots to tie it at 73 with 4.5 seconds remaining. Carr scored 23 points.
Bryant, a 6-10 center, dominated inside with eight points in the third overtime.
South Dakota State 98, Western Illinois 65
Michael Orris scored 18 points and added eight assists and South Dakota State avenged its prior loss to Western Illinois by crushing the Leathernecks 98-65 on Wednesday night in Brookings, S.D.
Five players checked in with 15-points-plus efforts for South Dakota State, and the 98-point total is its highest offensive output of the season.
Reed Tellinghuisen scored 17 points, Mike Daum and Skyler Flatten had 16 apiece, and Chris Howell chipped in 15 for the Jackrabbits (10-14, 3-6 Summit League). It is the Jackrabbits second consecutive win and the first time they have won back-to-back games since mid-December.
C.J. Duff led Western Illinois (7-13, 4-5) with 16 points, while Dalan Ancrum added 14.
South Dakota State led by double-digits throughout the second half, pushing its lead past 20 on a Flatten 3 with 7:58 left. The Leathernecks never got it back below 20.
WOMEN
No. 1 UConn 97, Temple 69
Napheesa Collier had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help UConn to its 96th consecutive win with a 97-69 victory over Temple on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
Katie Lou Samuelson added 24 points for the Huskies (21-0, 9-0 AAC), who won their 35th consecutive game on the road, surpassing their own NCAA record. UConn’s last road loss came against Stanford on Nov. 17, 2014. That was also the last time the Huskies lost any game.
Temple (16-5, 6-2) only trailed 6-5 before UConn scored the next 13 points to blow the game open. The Huskies had seven consecutive layups in that run. Alliya Butts’ 3-pointer with 2:08 left in the first quarter stopped the Huskies spurt briefly before they closed the period with the final six points to go up 25-8.
UConn kept it going as Samuelson scored 10 points during a second quarter burst to extend the lead to 52-18 at the half and the rout was on.
The Huskies made 20 of 26 shots (77 percent) from the field in the first half, including missing only 2 of 21 shots from inside the 3-point line. They cooled off a little bit in the second half and finished the game shooting 61 percent (38 for 62) from the field.
Tanaya Atkinson scored 20 points and Butts added 13 for the Owls, who outrebounded UConn 42-30, including grabbing 26 offensive boards.
Associated Press
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