ORONO — Mykhailo Yagodin made two free throws to stretch Maine’s lead to three with 13 seconds left and the Black Bears held on to beat New Hampshire 59-56 and earn the first win of the season in an America East men’s basketball game on Saturday.
Maine (1-3, 1-2 America East) had a six-point lead with 2:53 left but didn’t score again until Yagodin’s foul shots.
The game, played at Memorial Gym, otherwise known as the Pit on the University of Maine campus, was the first played home game played by any Maine team since March 8, when the women’s basketball team defeated UMass-Lowell 67-54 in the America East semifinals.
Stephane Ingo had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Maine. Vligot Larsson added 12 points.
Marque Maultsby had 17 points for New Hampshire (3-3, 2-1).
(2) BAYLOR 76, IOWA STATE 65: Jared Butler scored 21 points to lead four scorers in double figures and the Bears (9-0, 2-0 Big 12) held off the Cyclones (2-5, 0-3) in Ames, Iowa, for their narrowest margin of victory this season.
The Bears won seven of their previous eight games by at least 29 points, winning by an average of 32.8 points.
Butler hit a 3-pointer from the right corner for a 63-55 lead with 7:31 remaining and made three key free throws in the final 3 minutes after Iowa State pulled within 66-61.
Javan Johnson led Iowa State with 17 points.
ALABAMA 71, (7) TENNESSEE 63: John Petty hit three critical 3-pointers and finished with 19 points, leading the Crimson Tide (7-3, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) past the Vols (7-1, 1-1) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(8) TEXAS 84, (3) KANSAS 59: Courtney Ramey scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures for the Longhorns (8-1, 2-0 Big 12), whose victory margin at Allen Fieldhouse over the Jayhawks (8-2, 1-1) was the most by a visiting team since Missouri’s 91-66 win on Feb. 1, 1989.
Ochai Agbaji also had 11 points for the Jayhawks, who shot just 31% from the field and went 3 of 23 from beyond the arc while losing their first game since their opener against top-ranked Gonzaga.
OKLAHOMA 75, (9) WEST VIRGINIA 71: Umoja Gibson made eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 29 points, and the Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) recovered after blowing an 18-point halftime lead to beat the Mountaineers (8-3, 1-2) in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) have won three straight and four of five against the Mountaineers (8-3, 1-2), including a season sweep in 2019-20. The Sooners also have won four of their last seven games against ranked opponents.
Taz Sherman and Jalen Bridges had 19 points each for West Virginia, and Miles McBride had 15. The Mountaineers’ previous losses this season came to No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 3 Kansas. The loss kept coach Bob Huggins from recording his 300th win as West Virginia’s coach.
With the score tied at 60, Austin Reaves knocked down a long 2-point jumper and then a 3-pointer with 3:40 left, giving Oklahoma the lead for good.
(10) IOWA 77, (14) RUTGERS 75: Luka Garza had 25 points, 15 in the second half, as the Hawkeyes (9-2, 3-1 Big Ten) defeated Rutgers (7-2, 3-2) in Piscataway, New Jersey, thanks to the Scarlet Knights’ free throw struggles.
Rutgers has struggled all season at the foul line this season, hitting just 62%. It went 4-of-12 against Iowa, which was 18-of-23.
Jacob Young had 17 points as Rutgers’ defense stifled the Big Ten’s top offense.
(11) CREIGHTON 67, PROVIDENCE 65: Christian Bishop made a go-ahead dunk with 0.8 seconds left, and the Bluejays (8-2, 4-1 Big East) survived a late rally to beat the Friars (7-4, 3-2), in Providence, Rhode Island.
Marcus Zegarowski, who had the assist on Bishop’s dunk, hit six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points to help the Bluejays to their fourth straight victory.
Damien Jefferson added a season-high 18 points, his eighth consecutive game in double-figures. Marcus Ballock finished with 14 points. Zegarowski, Jefferson and Ballock combined for 52 of the Bluejays’ points.
(12) MISSOURI 81, ARKANSAS 68: Jeremiah Tilmon scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for No. 12 Missouri, and the Tigers (7-1, 1-1 SEC) handed the Razorbacks (9-1, 1-1) their first loss of the season, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Tilmon eclipsed his season high in points during the first half and finished with a career high. He was joined in double figures by Xavier Pinson with 23 and Mark Smith with 11.
Arkansas (9-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), missing its best interior player, could not match Missouri’s physicality. The Tigers (7-1, 1-1) outrebounded Arkansas 51-36, outscored the Razorbacks 34-22 in the paint, and held them to 27% shooting from the field.
OKLAHOMA STATE 82, (13) TEXAS TECH 77: Bryce Williams scored 15 points in his first start for Oklahoma State, including a steal and breakaway dunk in overtime as the Cowboys (7-2, 1-2 Big 12) held on to beat the Red Raiders (8-3, 1-2) in Lubbock, Texas.
Issac Likeleke and Avery Anderson III both had 17 points for the Cowboys, who needed overtime after blowing an 11-point lead in the second half. They lost their first two conference games by a combined five points.
Mac McClung led Texas Tech with 21 points. He hit a 3-pointer to start the overtime period, but those were his last points before he fouled out with 1:06 left.
(15) ILLINOIS 66, PURDUE 58: Kofi Cockburn had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Fighting Illini (8-3, 4-1 Big Ten) in a win over the visiting Boilermakers (7-5, 2-3).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
NEW HAMPSHIRE 58, MAINE 57: Amanda Torres made two foul shots with eight seconds left and the Wildcats (2-6, 2-3 America East) handed the Black Bears (5-1, 2-1) their first loss of the season, in Durham, New Hampshire.
Maine trailed by four with 7:25 left but rallied to take a three-point lead with 4:12 remaining on a 3-pointer by Kelly Fogarty. The lead grew to six on another 3 by Fogarty with 1:48 left, but the Black Bears didn’t score again.
Torres finished with 19 points. Brooke Kane added 12 points, and Ivy Gogolin had nine points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Paige Cote of Sanford scored six points.
Blanca Millan led Maine with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Anne Simon had 15 points and eight rebounds.
(2) LOUISVILLE 97, BELLARMINE 46: Olivia Cochran scored 15 points to lead the Cardinals (7-0) to a victory over the Knights (0-5) in Louisville, Kentucky.
Unlike Friday’s victory over Northern Kentucky, when they needed a third-quarter run to overcome a deficit, the Cardinals took command early against the Knights. A 13-2 first-quarter spurt gave Louisville a lead it would not relinquish.
The Cardinals shot 60.9% for the game, 13 of 16 in the second quarter to pull away.
(7) BAYLOR 74, TCU 50: Moon Ursin and NaLyssa Smith had double-doubles and the Bears (8-1, 3-0 Big 12) beat the Horned Frogs (5-3, 0-3), in a game both head coaches missed the game because of coronavirus contact tracing, in Fort Worth, Texas.
With associate head coach Bill Brock filling in for Kim Mulkey, Baylor won its 30th straight game in the series against the Horned Frogs. It was the first game for the Lady Bears since consecutive 93-point nonconference victories the week before Christmas.
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