LDN - Sports

Top 25 roundup: Tulsa nips No. 5 Houston in last second

[December 31, 2020] Brandon Rachal sank two free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining and the host Tulsa Golden Hurricane knocked off the fifth-ranked Houston Cougars 65-64 on Tuesday.

Rachal paired a season-high 22 points with eight rebounds and finished 8 of 8 from the free-throw line as Tulsa (5-3, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) defeated a top-5 team for the first time since beating No. 5 UCLA on Nov. 20, 1996.

Caleb Mills sank a baseline jumper to give Houston (7-1, 2-1) the lead with 6.3 seconds left. But Rachal attacked the basket on the ensuing possession and drew a foul on Cougars center Brison Gresham, who fouled out on the play.

Quentin Grimes led Houston with 19 points and seven boards while Marcus Sasser chipped in 14 points and Mills had 11. The Cougars shot just 4 of 21 on 3-point attempts.

No. 1 Gonzaga 112, Dixie State 67

Corey Kispert scored a game-high 25 points and Joel Ayayi added 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Bulldogs cruised past the Trailblazers in Spokane, Wash.

Gonzaga freshman Oumar Ballo added a season-high 17 points in 13 minutes off the bench, making all six of his field-goal attempts. The Bulldogs (9-0) wrapped up the nonleague portion of their schedule and are set to begin West Coast Conference play Saturday against visiting San Francisco.

Cameron Gooden scored 20 points to lead the Trailblazers (4-2), who are in their first season in NCAA Division I. It was Dixie State's first game against a ranked D-I opponent.

No. 2 Baylor 93, Central Arkansas 56

MaCio Teague scored 20 points to lead five Baylor players in double-figure scoring during a win at Waco, Texas.

Jared Butler added 17 points, all in the first half for Baylor (7-0). Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua had 13 points (on 6 for 6 shooting) and 11 rebounds for Baylor and Davion Mitchell distributed 12 assists. DeAndre Jones paced Central Arkansas (1-7) with 19 points.

Baylor led by just five points nine minutes into the game but ripped off a lightning-fast 10-0 run, consuming just 1:35 of the clock and expanding the lead to 30-15, then never looked back.

No. 9 West Virginia 73, Northeastern 51

The Mountaineers' inside punch of Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe proved too much for the Huskies in a nonconference game at Morgantown, W.Va.

Culver fired in a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting while Tshiebwe powered to a 12-point, 15-rebound effort for West Virginia (8-2). The Mountaineers overcame poor shooting from 3-point range (2 of 21) by owning the boards and playing their typical rugged defense.

The Huskies (1-5) were paced by Quirin Emanga with 13 points while Tyson Walker managed 10 points, seven under his average. Walker was hassled into five of Northeastern's 19 turnovers. The Mountaineers converted those mistakes into 22 points.

No. 10 Iowa 87, No. 19 Northwestern 72

The Hawkeyes returned to the win column when they defeated the Wildcats in Iowa City.

Jordan Bohannon led the Hawkeyes (8-2, 2-1 Big Ten) with 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting and added five assists and five rebounds. CJ Fredrick had 19 points and Luka Garza followed with 18 for Iowa, which was coming off a 102-95 overtime loss at Minnesota on Friday.

Junior Pete Nance scored a career-high 21 points for Northwestern (6-2, 3-1).

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Tulsa Golden Hurricane guard Brandon Rachal (1) and Memphis Tigers guard Landers Nolley II (3) during the game at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

No. 13 Texas Tech 79, Incarnate Word 51

Kevin McCullar returned to action and led the Red Raiders to a lopsided 79-51 victory against Incarnate Word in Lubbock, Texas.

Out for the first nine games with an ankle injury, the third-year sophomore finished with 11 points in 12 minutes as Texas Tech (8-2) prevailed in its final tune-up before resuming the Big 12 Conference season.

Marcus Santos-Silva also scored 11 points for Texas Tech while Kyler Edwards showed signs of thawing out of a recent slump with 10 points. Keaston Willis topped Incarnate Word with 13 points. The Cardinals (1-4) were playing for the first time since Dec. 5 after a COVID-19-prompted pause.

No. 14 Rutgers 81, Purdue 76

Junior Montez Mathis scored a career-high 25 points as the Scarlet Knights overcame the absence of leading scorer Ron Harper Jr. and recorded a victory over the Boilermakers in Piscataway N.J.

Mathis made a career-high five 3-pointers and did not miss from behind the arc for Rutgers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten). Geo Baker added a season-high 19 points, and Jacob Young contributed 13 points.

Trevion Williams scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime for Purdue (7-4, 2-2). Williams made 10 of 12 shots and also grabbed 12 rebounds. Sophomore Isaiah Thompson matched a career high with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.

Clemson 77, No. 18 Florida State 67

Nick Honor and Al-Amir Dawes combined for 24 second-half points as the Tigers knocked off the visiting Seminoles.

Honor, a transfer from Fordham, scored 10 points during a key second-half spurt that saw the Tigers (7-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) pull away from a 54-54 tie to claim their second consecutive victory against the Seminoles. Clyde Trapp led Clemson with 15 points. Honor and Dawes, who both were scoreless in the first half, added 13 and 11, respectively.

Florida State (5-2, 1-1) got 14 points from Scottie Barnes and 11 from M.J. Walker.

No. 24 Virginia Tech 80, Miami 78

Keve Aluma scored a game-high 26 points to help the Hokies hold off the Hurricanes for a victory in Blacksburg, Va.

Isaiah Wong scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Hurricanes' second-half rally, but he missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with just over three seconds left that would have given Miami the lead.

The Hokies' Justyn Mutts, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals, missed two ensuing free throws at the other end and Miami's Nysier Brooks grabbed the rebound. However, Brooks lost the ball, committing the Hurricanes' 19th turnover of the game and time expired.

--Field Level Media

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