TOP 25 MEN
CINCINNATI 71, NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 62
CINCINNATI -- San Diego State's defense fell apart in the game's biggest moments.
Farad Cobb hit a three-pointer that put Cincinnati in control in overtime, and the Bearcats pulled away to a 71-62 victory over the 19th-ranked Aztecs on Wednesday night.
The Bearcats (7-2) were coming off a 56-55 double-overtime loss at Nebraska on Saturday night that underscored their season-long struggle to hit shots. On Wednesday night, Cobb made the one in overtime that made the difference.
San Diego State (7-3) lost for only the second time in its past 20 overtime games. And it was clear what led to this one.
"We've got to get better," said Winston Shepard, who had a game-high 17 points. "We've been living off our hype from last year."
Shepard made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left that tied it 57-57 and sent it to overtime. The Aztecs were outscored 14-5 in overtime.
The Bearcats had a 35-33 edge in rebounds, including a 24-17 advantage in defensive rebounds that made the difference.
"We've got to get better on defense," Shepard said. "Defense is our staple. A lot of people talk about offense, but we've got to get better at the other end of the floor.
"If we're going to be as good of a defensive team as we want to be, we've got to get that rebound to finish the possession. You can play defense for 35 seconds but if you don't get the rebound, it doesn't matter."
Cincinnati is tough to beat at home, where it's 24-1 since the start of the 2013-2014 season. The only loss was to Louisville 58-57 last season.
The Bearcats got the better of a matchup of teams that rely on defense to pull out low-scoring games. Cincinnati came in ranked ninth nationally, allowing 52.8 points per game. San Diego State was 14th, giving up 55 points.
It played to form. The Bearcats made only 4 of 11 three-pointers, while the Aztecs were 5 of 25.
After Cincinnati's second shot clock violation of the first half, Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson -- sitting in the front row courtside -- buried his face in his hands.
The Aztecs made 5 of 9 while pulling ahead 13-6 for their biggest lead of the game, with Cincinnati missing seven of its first 10 shots. The Bearcats went to a full-court press, forced back-to-back turnovers and brought the Aztecs' offense to a halt.
San Diego State didn't score over the final 6 minutes, 20 seconds of the half, helping Cincinnati pull ahead 22-20.
"We knew they had a good defense," San Diego State Coach Steve Fisher said. "We knew they presented problems. They're a tough-minded basketball team and they make you pay. We didn't do quite enough. It's a game we could have won."
There were four ties and five lead changes during the first 8 minutes of the second half. Shepard had two free throws and a layup during an 11-4 run that put the Aztecs up 43-38.
Jermaine Sanders' three-pointer -- only Cincinnati's second three of the game -- helped the Bearcats catch up. Cobb's three-pointer gave Cincinnati a 52-49 lead with 2:12 to go, matching its biggest lead of the game to that point.
NO. 12 OHIO STATE 97, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 55
COLUMBUS, Ohio — D’Angelo Russell scored 21 points and Marc Loving had 15, leading No. 12 Ohio State over North Carolina A&T. The victory set the stage for a showdown with No. 24 North Carolina on Saturday. The Buckeyes (9-1) hope this matchup with a ranked team turns out better than the last one. They were down by 19 at the half at No. 5 Louisville on Dec. 2 and rallied before falling, 64-55. Shannon Scott had 12 assists and 7 steals to go with 8 points against North Carolina A&T. Saturday’s game against the Tar Heels carries extra significance for Scott, whose father, Charlie, ranks among the great players at North Carolina. Kam Williams added 15 points in the second half for the Buckeyes, who hit 69 percent of their shots after the break to finish at 57 percent (35 of 62) from the field.
The Buckeyes broke out to leads of 10-0 and 17-2 but North Carolina A&T scored 12 of the next 18 points to pull to a nine-point deficit.
Up 39-26 at the half, the Buckeyes came out of the gate in a hurry in the second half, scoring 13 of the first 15 points to pull away.
Bruce Beckford had 26 points and Arturs Bremers 14 for the Aggies (1-11), who have lost 11 in a row after opening with a victory against Division III Greensboro College.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN STATE 66, EASTERN MICHIGAN 46
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Bryn Forbes scored 14 points and Travis Trice added 13 as No. 25 Michigan State beat Eastern Michigan, denying the Eagles their second consecutive upset victory over an in-state opponent.
Eastern Michigan beat Michigan in Ann Arbor last week, but the Eagles (8-2) never led against Michigan State. Eastern Michigan shot 23 percent from the field, and although its 2-3 zone caused the Spartans (8-3) to look ragged at times, Michigan State did not seem especially troubled after the first few minutes.
The Spartans did lose standout senior Branden Dawson to an apparent left wrist injury with 15:30 remaining in the game. Dawson took a hard fall while trying to dunk the ball and did not return. Raven Lee led the Eagles with 12 points.
SEC MEN
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 83, TENNESSEE 72
RALEIGH, N.C. — Ralston Turner knew he’d get plenty of open perimeter looks against Tennessee’s zone defense. The North Carolina State senior knocked them down all night, too.
Turner had career highs of 33 points and eight three-pointers, helping the Wolfpack beat the Volunteers.
Tennessee’s trapping defense yielded plenty of gaps on the perimeter that Turner repeatedly converted into big baskets — several with no defender really close to him.
“With the way they play, they try to wreak havoc, force turnovers,” Turner said. “When you play that style of play, it’s kind of like they’re banking on you to miss some shots, but they also want you to shoot it quick. ... It was just a matter of being confident and making the play.”
Turner finished 9 for 18 from the field and 8 for 17 from three-point range, surpassing his previous high of 24 points set against Hofstra in the second game of the season. The LSU transfer had averaged 4.5 points in two games against the Volunteers while with the Tigers.
“I actually told [Turner] before the game he was going to get 30 — I’m serious — because the way they press us, he was going to get wide open threes all night,” teammate Trevor Lacey said. “It was just on him to step up and make them, and he did.”
Lacey had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Wolfpack (9-2), who shot 51 percent from the field and led by 17 points before holding off a second-half comeback to beat the Volunteers (4-4) for the second consecutive season.
Point guard Anthony “Cat” Barber added 7 points, 8 assists and 1 turnover. “Those three guards are probably one of the 10 best backcourts in college basketball, so any one of those three are capable of going off,” first-year Vols Coach Donnie Tyndall said. “Tonight obviously Turner got it going in a big way.”
Turner finished one three-pointer shy of the program record a day before he graduates with a degree in sports management.
“I think we’ve just got to do a better job of getting to the shooter,” said Josh Richardson, who scored 17 to lead Tennessee. “We knew he was a good shooter going in.”
SEC WOMEN
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 69,
HAMPTON 49
HAMPTON, Va. — Tiffany Mitchell made six three-pointers and scored 20 points as No. 1 South Carolina (10-0) beat Hampton (3-6) on Wednesday night.
The Gamecocks took command with a 19-5 first-half run and held a 29-9 rebounding edge at halftime, but they led by just 54-39 before scoring the next 12 points to put away the game. Bianca Cuevas started and finished the burst with two three-pointers, extending the lead to 66-39.
Cuevas, Alaina Coates and A’Ja Wilson added 12 points each for South Carolina.
Malia Tate-DeFreitas led Hampton with 19 points and Kyani White had 11. The Lady Pirates, winners of the past five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournaments, shot just 34.6 percent (18 of 52) and were outrebounded 48-21.
NO. 21 MISSISSIPPI ST. 66, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 51
LAFAYETTE, La. — Morgan William hit 11 of 14 free throws and scored 21 points as No. 21 Mississippi State (12-0) defeated Louisiana-Lafayette (6-1). Mississippi State is off to its best start in school history. It’s the first time the Bulldogs have won 12 in a row.
Victoria Vivians had 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Mississippi State. Martha Alwal added 14 as the Bulldogs made 50 percent of their 46 field-goal attempts.
Keke Veal led Louisiana-Lafayette with 17 points. Jaylyn Gordon added 13, and Kia Wilridge had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Lafayette had a 34-32 lead at the break but went cold in the second half. The Ragin’ Cajuns were held to one field goal in the first 8 minutes of the second half and only had eight second-half points with four minutes to play.
Sports on 12/18/2014