EASTERN KENTUCKY 72, NO. 18 MIAMI 44
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Eastern Kentucky made a statement -- at Miami's expense.
Corey Walden scored 18 points to help lead the Colonels of the Ohio Valley Conference rout No. 18 Miami 72-44 on Friday night.
The Colonels (6-4) never trailed, led by two at halftime and pulled away with a 22-2 run early in the second half. Isaac McGlone keyed the surge with 3 three-pointers and his third conversion from behind the arc gave Eastern Kentucky a 43-27 lead with 13:21 remaining.
Miami (9-2) was scoreless for an 8:27 stretch until Davon Reed made two free throws with 10:40 left to cut Eastern Kentucky's lead to 43-29.
"Our whole goal going into the game was there's no way we were going to allow Miami to get to 50," Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer said. "You can have 49 points but they're not getting 50. Somehow that came true here tonight."
The Colonels ran off eight consecutive points on consecutive three-pointers from Timmy Knipp and Jaylen Babb-Harrison's layup for a 51-29 lead with 8:49 remaining.
Knipp scored 17 points and hit 5-of-9 three-pointers. Eric Stutz added 13, and McGlone had 12.
"It's a dream come true," Knipp said. "You dream about playing in these types of games and escaping with a win. It's a huge boost for our team and our teammates."
Reed's three-pointer with 8:07 left ended a field goal drought of 10:33 for Miami. The Hurricanes shot 29 percent from the field.
Sheldon McClellan led the Hurricanes with 14 points.
"It's one thing if you miss shots but we didn't share the ball very well," Miami Coach Jim Larranaga said. "Because of that we didn't defend at all. We gave them everything they wanted -- no matter what."
NO. 20 ST. JOHN'S 53, SAINT MARY'S (CAL) 47
NEW YORK -- D'Angelo Harrison scored 21 points and No. 20 St. John's overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to rally past Saint Mary's.
The Red Storm (9-1) trailed 33-18 at the break. St. John's opened the second half with a 27-8 run to take the lead.
Sir'Dominic Pointer added 11 points and 11 rebounds for St. John's.
Brad Waldow had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Gaels (6-3).
The Red Storm has won twice in three all-time meetings against the West Coast Conference team. The Gaels' lone victory came on Nov. 16, 2010, in Steve Lavin's first game as the coach at St. John's.
Pointer's two foul shots with 8:04 remaining gave St. John's a 43-41 lead, its first edge since the early minutes.
The Red Storm's defense sparked the run, forcing nine turnovers in the second half and limiting Saint Mary's to 26.1 percent shooting. St. John's shot 13 of 28 in the final 20 minutes.
SEC
TENNESSEE 61, TENNESSEE TECH 58
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Josh Richardson scored 19 points as Tennessee rallied from a six-point halftime deficit in a victory over Tennessee Tech.
Tennessee (5-4) continued its penchant for second-half comebacks. The Volunteers have led at the half just once all season, but they've rallied from halftime deficits to beat Santa Clara, Butler and now Tennessee Tech. The Vols also beat Texas Southern after being tied at halftime.
Richardson broke a 46-all tie and put Tennessee ahead for good by making one of two free throws with 7:10 left.
Tennessee was clinging to a one-point lead after Tennessee Tech's Josiah Moore sank a three-pointer with 2:15 left, but Armani Moore and Devon Baulkman made back-to-back three-point plays that gave the Vols breathing room.
Charles Jackson had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee Tech (6-5). Torrance Rowe had 14 points and Josiah Moore added 13.
Baulkman had 10 points for Tennessee.
ALABAMA 69, STILLMAN 49
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Justin Coleman had 14 points to lead five players in double figures as Alabama defeated Stillman College.
Alabama (7-3) scored the first eight points of the game and extended its advantage to 30-12 when Coleman canned a three-pointer with 5:09 left. Stillman (4-3) scored nine of the next 13 points to pull to within 31-19.
The Crimson Tide led at the half 34-21.
Alabama pulled away steadily in the second half. The Crimson Tide had its largest lead, 63-39, when Levi Randolph scored on a lay-up with 5:57 to go.
Randolph, Riley Norris and Shannon Hale each scored 13 points for the Crimson Tide. Jimmie Taylor contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
Alabama bounced back from a 53-52 loss at No.11 Wichita State on Tuesday.
Maurice Crenshaw had 13 points for Stillman, an NCAA Division II team located in Tuscaloosa.
SOUTH CAROLINA 68, CLEMSON 45
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Duane Notice scored 19 points to lead South Carolina to a victory over Clemson.
Clemson (6-4) went scoreless over six minutes in the middle of the second half. The Gamecocks (6-3) scored 17 over the same period to lead 61-37 with just over six minutes to go.
The 23-point margin was South Carolina's biggest victory in the rivalry since beating Clemson 81-53 in 1971.
After making just 1-of-9 three-pointers in the first half, South Carolina made 6 of its first 11 shots behind the arc in the second half.
The Tigers scored just 15 second half points as they lost to a Southeastern Conference team for the first time in four games this season. Jaron Blossomgame led Clemson with 14 points.
It's Gamecocks Coach Frank Martin's first victory over his team's in-state rival in three tries.
Sports on 12/20/2014