LDN - Sports

Top 25 basketball roundup: No. 9 Kentucky survives scare

[November 19, 2019] Kentucky, which plummeted from No. 1 to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 following a stunning home loss to Evansville, got back on the winning track Monday night with an 82-74 win over Utah Valley on Lexington, Ky. -- but it wasn't easy.

After Kentucky held merely a 68-67 lead with 2 1/2 minutes to play, Ashton Hagans scored six of his game-high 26 points down the stretch to seal the victory. All six were on free throws, and the Wildcats made 10 of 11 foul shots in the final two-plus minutes and finished 31 of 34 at the line. Hagans was 12-for-12.

Kentucky (3-1), which outscored Utah Valley 14-7 down the stretch, got 21 points and 10 rebounds from Nick Richards. Tyrese Maxey added 14 points, and Nate Sestina had a team-best 12 rebounds. The Wildcats, who were tied for 337th out of 350 Division I schools in made 3-pointers through the weekend, sank only 1 of 12 tries from beyond the arc.

The Wolverines (3-2) got 22 points from T.J. Washington and 17 from Trey Woodbury.

No. 3 Michigan State 94, Charleston Southern 46

Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to the Spartans past the Buccaneers in a campus game for the Maui Invitational.

Twelve players scored for Michigan State (3-1), which now takes some time off before heading west at the end of the week in preparation for a Nov. 25 tournament game against Virginia Tech in Maui. Sophomore Gabe Brown, in his first career start, scored 12 points.

Dontrell Shuler scored 15 to lead Charleston Southern (1-4) in the first matchup between the schools. Malik Battle chipped in 11 points.

No. 10 Ohio State 86, Stetson 51

Junior Kyle Young had a career-high 15 points along with 10 rebounds as the Buckeyes took a 28-point halftime lead and cruised past the visiting Hatters at Value City Arena in Columbus.

Kaleb Wesson added 13 points and D.J. Carton 10 for the Buckeyes (4-0), who made 45.5 percent of their field goals, going 10-for-27 on 3-pointers (37 percent). Stetson shot 28.1 percent from the floor.

Rob Perry led the Hatters (2-2) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Their largest deficit was 47 points at 77-30 with eight minutes to play.

No. 15 Utah State 82, Texas-San Antonio 50

Sam Merrill had a game-high 21 points, and the Aggies' defense limited the Roadrunners to 28.6 percent shooting from the field as Utah State pulled away in the final 10 minutes for an easy win in Logan, Utah.

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Kentucky Wildcats guard Ashton Hagans (0) shoots the ball against Utah Valley Wolverines center Brandon Morley (13) in the second half at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Diogo Brito scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half for Utah State (5-0). Brock Miller scored 10 points. Justin Bean and Alphonso Anderson had 11 rebounds while Kuba Karwowski grabbed 10.

UTSA (0-5) was led by Jhivvan Jackson with 15 points, followed by Eric Czumbel with 12 and Keaton Wallace with 10. The Aggies outrebounded UTSA 55-36 and outscored the Roadrunners 46-16 in the paint.

No. 19 Auburn 91, Colgate 62

Samir Doughty had 20 points to lead four teammates who scored in double figures as the host Tigers rolled to a surprisingly easy victory over the Patriot League favorite Raiders in the second campus game of the Legends Classic.

J'Von McCormick backed up Doughty with 14 points and eight assists while Austin Wiley recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (5-0), who led from the opening seconds on.

Jordan Burns scored 18 points to lead the Raiders (1-3), who trailed by 32 points at halftime and by as many as 45 points in the second half on their way to a third consecutive loss. Rapolas Ivanauskas, with 12 points, was the only other Raider in double figures.

No. 23 Colorado 69, UC Irvine 53

Tyler Bey had 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals, and McKinley Wright IV added 16 points as the Buffaloes beat the visiting Anteaters in Boulder, Colo.

Colorado (3-0) knocked down 9 of 19 3-point attempts and forced UC Irvine into 22 turnovers. UC Irvine, expected to contend for the Big West Conference title this season after making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, went the last three minutes of the game without a point.

Collin Welp led the Anteaters (3-2) with 12 points, and Tommy Rutherford added 10. UC Irvine freshman Austin Johnson had a game-high nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

--Field Level Media

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