Zeller, No. 6 Hoosiers stop Owls

Saturday, December 22, 2012

— Cody Zeller had 24 points and six rebounds, Christian Watford scored 17 points and No. 6 Indiana routed Florida Atlantic 88-52.

Indiana has shot a combined 60.4 percent from the field in two games this week en route to a 29th consecutive nonconference victory at home.

The Owls (5-7) were led by Greg Gantt, who finished with 25 points. He needs four more to break Earnest Crumbley’s school scoring record (1,559).

But Indiana never gave Coach Mike Jarvis’ team a chance in a game that turned ugly fast.

Since losing Saturday to Butler, the Hoosiers (11-1) are 64 of 106 from the field and have held this week’s two opponents to a combined shooting rate of 32.8 percent.

Indiana opened the game by going 9 of 12 from the floor.

Zeller tied the score at 6-6 on a 15-foot jumper and broke the final tie of the night with a three-point play.

Victor Oladipo followed that with a driving layup, Will Sheehey made a 15-footer and a three-pointer, and the Hoosiers were off and running. When the 20-2 spurt ended, Indiana led 24-8 midway through the first half.

After a three-pointer from Gantt, Indiana went on an 18-6 run to make it 42-17 with 5:04 left in the half.

The Owls trailed 55-25 at the half.

NO. 22 NOTRE DAME 89, NIAGARA 67

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Jack Cooley had 24 points and 15 rebounds, both season highs, to lead No. 22 Notre Dame to a victory over Niagara.

The 6-9 senior jumped out to a quick start, tying his season-high game total of 20 points by halftime. The Fighting Irish led 42-34 at the break.

Niagara (5-7) committed 11 fouls in the first half and the Irish (12-1) took advantage, hitting 12 of 14 (86 percent) free throws.

Antoine Mason led the Purple Eagles with 17 points.

SEC/SUN BELT MEN MIDDLE TENNESSEE 56, VANDERBILT 52

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tweety Knight scored a go-ahead layup with 1:08 left to lift Middle Tennessee to a victory over Vanderbilt.

Bruce Massey scored 17 points to lead the Blue Raiders (9-3), who ended the game on a 16-3 run to get their first victory against Vanderbilt (5-5) since 1995.

After Knight’s layup, Kerry Hammonds plucked a steal from Kedren Johnson and finished with a layup for a three-point cushion. Johnson missed a three-pointer and Raymond Cintron’s free throws with 7.5 seconds left sealed the victory.

Johnson scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half to lead Vanderbilt. He banked in his final basket with 1:56 left to give Vanderbilt a 52-51 lead before Knight responded.

Hammonds scored 11 points for Middle Tennessee, which had lost five consecutive against Vanderbilt.

TENNESSEE 66, WESTERN CAROLINA 52

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Jordan McRae scored 14 points as Tennessee capitalized on a big disparity at the free-throw line and defeated Western Carolina for its 300th all-time victory at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Volunteers (7-3) are 300-104 at Thompson-Boling Arena, their home floor since the 1987-1988 season.

Jarnell Stokes and Josh Richardson each had 12 points for Tennessee, while Trae Golden had 10 points. Kenny Hall had nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Trey Sumler scored 23 points to lead the Catamounts (4-8).

SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 7 KENTUCKY 66, UC SANTA BARBARA 38

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A’dia Mathies scored 19 points and No. 7 Kentucky extended its winning streak to nine games with a victory over UC Santa Barbara.

The Wildcats (10-1) went 2-0 on their Pacific Coast road trip that began with an80-62 victory over Pepperdine in Malibu on Tuesday.

DeNesha Stallworth and Samarie Walker each scored 12 for the Wildcats. Stallworth, a 6-3 junior from Richmond, Calif., stood tall in her home state. She had 17 points against Pepperdine.

Mathies, a senior guard from Louisville, Ky., hit four three-pointers, three of them in the second half, as Kentucky broke it open after leading 28-20 at halftime.

The Gauchos (4-7) committed 17 of their 28 turnovers in the first half against Kentucky’s pressure defense.

NO. 21 SOUTH CAROLINA 65, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 45

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Tiffany Mitchell had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Aleighsa Welch also finished with a double-double and South Carolina beat South Carolina State.

Welch had 16 points and 14 rebounds - eight offensive - for the Gamecocks (11-1), who bounced back with a strong performance after losing to No. 1 Stanford 53-49 this week. Elem Ibiam scored 11 points and Ieasia Walker had six steals.

Tiara Knott had 14 points before fouling out for the Bulldogs (8-3), held scoreless for a stretch of nearly eight minutes.

SWAC WOMEN ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 74, NEW ORLEANS 62

PINE BLUFF - Wright Cassidy scored 21 points and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-6) ended a three-game losing streak, beating New Orleans at the H.O. Clemmons Arena. The Lady Lions led 46-26 at halftime.

Mathilde Fogelstrom led New Orleans (1-11) with 12 points and nine rebounds. Keri Thomas and Amber Clay finished with 12 points each.

Sports, Pages 24 on 12/22/2012