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Buzzer-beater thwarts Tide

— Point guard Cashmere Wright had never made a buzzer-beater to win a game. Coach Mick Cronin had never seen one of his teams pull one off at the end.

No surprise, then, that both were a little stunned when the ball went in.

Wright’s fadeaway jumper at the buzzer gave No. 17 Cincinnati a 58-56 victory over Alabama on Saturday in a matchup of unbeaten teams. In the final seconds, Cincinnati was a bit better on defense.

And the struggling Wright made the shot that decided it.

Trevor Releford had a chance to give Alabama the lead, but Justin Jackson swatted away his driving jump shot. Cincinnati (7-0) got the rebound and called timeout with six seconds left.

Wright took the inbound pass at midcourt, drove to the left side of the basket and hit his fadeaway 12-footer over the outstretched arm of 7-foot center Moussa Gueye. Wright fell on his back after releasing the ball and didn’t see it go through the hoop. He knew he’d won the game when teammates rushed at him.

Ever do that before?

“Never,” Wright said. “It was the least I could do. I basically was throwing away the whole game at the end. I felt if they could take me that far, I could make the shot.”

Wright was only 3 of 8 from the field with four turnovers when Cronin drew up the final play, putting the game in his hands. If Wright saw leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick open, he was supposed to pass to him. If not, take the shot.

When the ball left the guard’s hands, all Cronin could think about was the many times he’d lost a game on a buzzer-beater.

“That was the first time,” Cronin said. “In 17 years of college coaching, five of high school, I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a game-winner at the buzzer. One of those has to fall at some point for the Bearcats.”

JaQuon Parker and Kilpatrick had 13 apiece for Cincinnati. Trevor Lacey scored 16 for Alabama (6-1).

Cincinnati opened the game with a 17-4 run, but the Crimson Tide regrouped and kept it tight throughout the second half, which featured five ties and eight lead changes. The Bearcats went more than six minutes without a field goal.

After the opening minutes, the game was even.

“We knew coming in that their defense was outstanding and they were going to apply pressure,” Alabama Coach Anthony Grant said. “We didn’t do a very good job of handling it early. I told our guys what we needed to do was just settle down, it’s going to be a 40-minute game, we’re going to have an opportunity if we took care of the basketball.”

BAYLOR 64,

NO. 8 KENTUCKY 55

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky’s 54-game winning streak at Rupp Arena came to an end when the No. 8 Wildcats were upset by Baylor.

Pierre Jackson scored 17 points and Isaiah Austin and A.J. Walton (Little Rock Hall) each added 11 for the Bears (5-2). Brady Heslip and Cory Jefferson each added 10 points and Baylor beat the Wildcats for the first time in eight tries. Baylor shot 41 percent but held Kentucky (4-3) to 21 of 71, or 30 percent, from the floor.

Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) scored 17 points for Kentucky before fouling out with 1:44 remaining in the game. Alex Poythress added 13 and Nerlens Noel eight for the Wildcats.

NO. 16 MISSOURI 72,

APPALACHIAN STATE 56

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Laurence Bowers matched his career high with 23 points despite taking just one shot in the second half, leading No. 16 Missouri past Appalachian State in its first game since embattled guard Michael Dixon announced he would transfer.

Earnest Ross added 13 point and eight rebounds off the bench for the Tigers (6-1), which has won 69 in a row at home against nonconference opponents dating to 2005. Keion Bell had 12 points and Tony Criswell 10.

Jay Canty had a career-high 29 points for Appalachian State (1-6), which has lost six in a row.

Dixon, the Big 12’s top sixth man last season, elected to leave the school Thursday after two sexual assault claims against him became public this week. Dixon had been expected to take a major role his senior season but never played.

In other top 25 games, Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey each scored 14 points to lead No. 1 Indiana (8-) to an 87-51 victory over Coppin State. Taariq Cephas led Coppin State (1-6) with 13 points, and Michael Murray had 9 points and 12 rebounds. ... Ryan Kelly scored 15 of his 18 points in the decisive first half and No. 2 Duke routed visiting Delaware 88-50. Mason Plumlee added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-0). Devon Saddler had 23 points for Delaware (2-6). ... Freshman Nick Stauskas scored 22 points in his first start and No. 3 Michigan (7-0) survived a late run to beat host Bradley 74-66. Walt Lemon Jr., who scored 15 points, led Bradley (5-2) on a late run to close within 70-65 with half a minute to play. But the Braves were forced to foul and the Wolverines held on. ... LaQuinton Ross scored a career-high 22 points to lead cold-shooting No. 4 Ohio State to a 70-43 victory over visiting Northern Kentucky (0-5). Ohio State (5-1) made only 38 percent of its shots. ... Nick Johnson scored 18 points to lead No. 9 Arizona to an 85-57 victory over host Texas Tech, keeping the Wildcats unbeaten. Solomon Hill and Mark Lyons each added 14 points for Arizons (5-0). Kaleb Tarczewski pulled down 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (5-0). Jaye Crockett scored 12 points to lead Texas Tech (4-1). ... Doug McDermott scored 18 of his 23 in the first half, and No. 11 Creighton rode a fast start to an 80-51 victory over host Saint Joseph’s. Gregory Echenique added 16 points and six rebounds for the Bluejays (7-1). Langston Galloway scored 10 points to lead the Hawks (4-2). ... Sam Dower scored 18 points and No. 12 Gonzaga beat host Pacific 85-67, tying the team record for most victories to open a season. Elias Harris added 17 points for Gonzaga (8-0), which tied the 1994-95 squad for most victories to start the season. Travis Fulton led Pacific (3-4) with 15 points. ... Keith Appling scored 13 points and No. 13 Michigan State (6-2) used a big run in the first half to romp past visiting and undermanned Nicholls State 84-39. Nicholls State (1-3) was missing three starters because of injuries or illness. ... Leslie McDonald scored a career-high 24 points in his first career start to help No. 14 North Carolina beat visiting Alabama-Birmingham 102-84. James Michael McAdoo added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels (6-2). Jordan Swing had 21 points to lead the Blazers (4-4). ... Erick Green scored 28 points and hit eight critical free throws in the final 76 seconds to help host Virginia Tech remain unbeaten and hand No. 15 Oklahoma State its first lost, 81-71. Robert Brown added 18 points and Jarell Eddie had 15 with 12 rebounds for the Hokies (7-0). Le’Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart scored 18 each to lead the Cowboys (5-1). ... Rodney Williams with 15 points and eight rebounds as No. 21 Minnesota topped North Florida 87-59. Austin Hollins added 12 points for the Gophers (8-1). Parker Smith led the Ospreys (3-5) with 22 points. ... Anthony Bennett had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks to lead No. 24 UNLV past visiting Hawaii 77-63. Savon Goodman added 13 points and seven rebounds for UNLV (5-1). Christian Standhardinger tied a career high with 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Hawaii (4-2). ... Kendall Williams scored a season-high 24 points to help No. 25 New Mexico beat host Indiana State 77-68 in overtime. Hugh Greenwood scored eight of his 14 points in overtime and Chad Adams added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Lobos (8-0). Jake Odum led Indiana State (4-2) with 25 points.

SEC MEN

MISSISSIPPI 80, RUTGERS 67

OXFORD, Miss. — Marshall Henderson scored 18 points, including consecutive three-point shots in a decisive 14-2 surge in the final seven minutes, to lift Mississippi past Rutgers. Ole Miss (6-0) snapped a 55-55 tie with the winning outburst. Murphy Holloway aded 17 points and 15 rebounds. Reginald Buckner scored 14 points, Ladarius White had 13 and Jarvis Summers added 12. Myles Mack had 15 points for Rutgers (4-2), which led 36-32 at halftime. Dan Miller scored 14 points and Eli Carter added 10 for the Scarlet Knights, who managed only four baskets in the final seven minutes.

PROVIDENCE 73, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Kadeem Batts scored 32 points and LaDontae Henton added 18, leading Providence to a nonconference victory over Mississippi State. Wendell Lewis came off the bench strong for Mississippi State (2-5), setting a career high with 16 points and also grabbing 11 rebounds. Mississippi State also got 12 points from Fred Thomas and 10 from Roquez Johnson.

Providence guard Bryce Cotton left the game with 3:54 remaining in the first half with an apparent knee injury, leaving the Friars (6-2) just six players for the rest of the game.

Cotton’s exit followed a leg injury suffered early in the season by Vincent Council, who is day-to-day, and a shoulder injury that has held Kris Dunn out of the lineup. Four more Friars are currently ineligible to compete.

TEXAS A&M 70, HOUSTON 59

HOUSTON — Texas A&M, led by Elston Turner’s 16 first-half points and 26 overall, defeated Houston in Hofheinz Pavilion.

The Aggies (6-1) led 42-24 at halftime before Houston climbed back in the contest by slicing Texas A&M’s lead to 62-54 with 2:09 remaining. But Turner, a senior guard and team leader, scored 10 points, including two three-pointers, in the final 4:52 to hold the Cougars at bay.

J.J. Thompson led the Cougars (5-2) with 16 points, and Jherrod Stiggers followed with 12.

VILLANOVA 62, VANDERBILT 52

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mouphtaou Yarou scored 16 points to lead Villanova to a victory over Vanderbilt.

Yarou made 10 of 12 free throws and JayVaughn Pinkston added 13 off the bench as the Wildcats (4-3) snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Wildcats led by eight early in the second half, but the Commodores pulled within 46-44 with 7:18 left. Vanderbilt (2-4) made just two baskets the rest of the way and shot just 36.4 percent (8 of 22) after halftime.

Rod Odom led the Commodores with 14 points. Kedren Johnson added 12 and freshman Kevin Bright had 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Sports, Pages 32 on 12/02/2012

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