NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. scored 21 points and Silas Demary Jr. made four free throws in the last 29 seconds as No. 3 UConn extended its winning streak to 13 games with a 69-64 win over No. 25 Seton Hall on Tuesday night.
The Huskies nearly squandered an 18-point lead — 42-24 — with 17:20 left to play. Seton Hall battled back and closed within a point at 65-64 on a 3-pointer by Mike Williams III with 48 seconds left.
Demary made two free throws to give UConn a 67-64 lead with 29 seconds to play. Williams had a chance to tie it for Seton Hall on its next possession, but his 3-point attempt was blocked by freshman guard Braylon Mullins. Demary closed out the win with two more free throws with 11 seconds remaining.
The Huskies (17-1, 7-0 Big East) were held without a field goal for the final 5:40 of the game
Seton Hall had beaten UConn in the teams’ last four games at the Prudential Center.
Seton Hall (14-3, 4-2) had overcome double-digit deficits after halftime in all three of its wins since losing to Villanova on Dec. 23.
Alex Karaban had 13 points and Mullins scored 11 points for the Huskies.
Williams scored 16 points, Adam Clark added 12 and Najai Hines 10 for Seton Hall, which shot 1 for 16 (6%) from 3-point range. The Pirates were making third first appearance in The Associated Press’ Top 25 rankings since a No. 20 ranking nearly four years ago.
NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 81, INDIANA 60
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jeremy Fears scored 19 of his career-high 23 points in the first half and Jaxon Kohler finished with 16 points, leading Michigan State to a win over Indiana.
The Spartans (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) trailed by seven midway through the first half when Fears was their only scorer and led 39-32 at halftime after some of his teammates contributed offensively.
The Hoosiers (12-5, 3-3) tied the game with 11:19 to remaining, before giving up 19 straight points while being held scoreless for nearly seven minutes.
Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 points and didn’t get much help because none of his teammates scored in double figures. Reed Bailey, who is averaging 10 points, fouled out for the Hoosiers.
NO. 16 VIRGINIA 79, NO. 20 LOUISVILLE 70
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Malik Thomas made six 3-pointers and scored 19 points, Johann Grunloh added 16 points and Virginia shot 55% in the second half to beat Louisville.
Thomas went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc and 6 of 9 overall for the Cavaliers (15-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Virginia shot just 40% from the field but led throughout and made 7 of 13 3-pointers after halftime in its first meeting with a ranked foe this season.
Grunloh, a 7-foot freshman, went 3 of 4 on 3-pointers and added seven rebounds and four blocks.
Isaac McKneely, who spent the previous three seasons at Virginia, scored a season-high 23 points for Louisville (12-5, 2-3), which shot 36% and has dropped three of four.
Ryan Conwell added 14 points for the Cardinals, who played a seventh consecutive game without guard Mikel Brown Jr. (back) and were missing forward Khani Rooths because of an illness. Ex-G League player London Johnson dressed but did not play for a second straight game.
NO. 22 CLEMSON 74, BOSTON COLLEGE 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Nick Davidson scored 21 straight points in the first half and finished with a season-high 25 as Clemson beat Boston College to remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Tigers (15-3, 5-0 ACC) won their eighth straight game, one day after reaching the Top 25 rankings for the first time this season.
Davidson, the Nevada transfer, accounted for all of Clemson’s scoring in a 21-9 run in the first to turn a four-point deficit into a 32-24 lead.
Clemson started the second half on a 9-2 run. The Tigers were led by RJ Godfrey’s five points and extended their lead to double digits.
Davidson’s two foul shots with 9:50 to play extended Clemson’s lead to 21 points and Boston College (7-10, 0-4) failed to respond. The Tigers eventually led by 25 in the second half.
Davidson made 8 of 11 shots from the field, including four of Clemson’s eight 3-pointers. He finished a point shy of his career high, set against Sam Houston State in November 2024.
Fred Payne led Boston College with 20 points.
NO. 24 TENNESSEE 87, TEXAS A&M 82, 2OT
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nate Ament scored 23 points, 10 of which came in the two overtime periods, as Tennessee beat Texas A&M.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 18, Bishop Boswell had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Felix Okpara had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Volunteers (12-5, 2-2 in Southeastern Conference), who outrebounded the Aggies 60-35.
The Aggies (13-4, 3-1), who had their six-game winning streak snapped, were led by Jacari Lane with 20 points, Pop Isaacs with 16 and Ruben Dominguez with 15.
The Associated Press
