Vernon Carey Jr. notches double-double, No. 7 Duke beats BC
BOSTON (AP) — Vernon Carey Jr. had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 7 Duke to a 63-55 victory over Boston College on Tuesday night and give Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski his 500th career Atlantic Coast Conference victory.
Carey made a layup and then hit two free throws with about six minutes left during a 10-0 run that gave Duke (19-3. 9-2 ACC) the lead for good. Tre Jones scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half for the Blue Devils.
Derryck Thornton scored 21 points and Steffon Mitchell had 12 rebounds for Boston College (11-12, 5-7), which lost by 39 points at Duke on Dec. 31 but was coming off a one-point win at North Carolina.
Krzyzewski, the all-time winningest coach in Division I basketball, improved to 500-200 in the ACC regular season and tournament.
Duke finished 1 for 15 from 3-point range and BC was 2 for 18. The made 3-pointer kept alive a long streak for the Blue Devils. They have made at least one 3 in 1,081 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in the nation behind UNLV 's 1,092 games.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Jalen Smith had 14 points and 15 rebounds, Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 17 and No. 9 Maryland used a strong second half to beat Rutgers.
The Terrapins trailed 25-20 at halftime after shooting 24%. With Smith leading the way, Maryland (18-4, 8-3 Big Ten) emerged from the break with a 14-4 run and held off a late surge by the Scarlet Knights to improve to 13-0 at home.
Three free throws by Cowan put the Terrapins up 52-49 with 2:12 to go. Myles Johnson answered with a dunk, but the Scarlet Knights did not score again.
Smith, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, notched his fifth straight double-double and blocked six shots. He had a 3-pointer and a three-point play in succession to put the Terps ahead 34-29, and the margin swelled to eight points before Rutgers (16-7, 7-5) rallied.
NO. 11 AUBURN 79, ARKANSAS 76, OT
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Auburn's depth wore down Arkansas as the 11th-ranked Tigers edged the Razorbacks in overtime.
Samir Doughty scored 23 points, hitting two free throws in the final seconds of overtime, as the Tigers overcame a 40-point game by Mason Jones.
Arkansas led 65-54 at the 5:59 mark on a Jalen Harris dunk, but the Tigers closed on a 15-4 run to force the extra period.
The Razorbacks (16-6, 4-5) were coming off a big win at Alabama but were unable to continue the momentum against the Tide’s biggest rival.
NO. 15 KENTUCKY 80, MISSISSIPPI STATE 72
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Nick Richards scored a career-high 27 points, Immanuel Quickley added 21 and No. 15 Kentucky beat Mississippi State for the 14th straight time.
Seeking to regroup after last weekend's 75-66 loss at No. 11 Auburn, the Wildcats (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) never trailed and led by as many as 14 midway through the second half. They were quicker and more physical against the Bulldogs, outscoring them 38-34 in the paint and drawing fouls. They made 31 of 36 from the line.
The Bulldogs (14-8, 5-4) got within 64-59 with 2:36 remaining, but Richards and Quickley closed the victory by combining to make 14 free throws. The Wildcats shot 44% from the field.
After totaling just seven points and seven rebounds on Saturday, Richards bounced back big by making 7 of 10 from the field and grabbing 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 junior also made 13 of 15 free throws.
D.J. Stewart Jr. and Robert Woodard II each had 15 points and Reggie Perry 14 points for Mississippi State, which outrebounded Kentucky 40-37 but shot just 31%.
NO. 22 PENN STATE 75, NO. 16 MICHIGAN STATE 70
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Lamar Stevens had 24 points and Myreon Jones made a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 20 points to lead No. 22 Penn State over No. 16 Michigan State.
The Nittany Lions (17-5, 7-5 Big Ten) have won five straight games, making them contenders in the conference during the second half of the regular season.
The Spartans (16-7, 8-4) dropped consecutive games for the first time this season. They also lost to a Big Ten team at home for the first time this year.
Michigan State's Cassius Winston scored 25 points but could not convert on chances to pull into a tie twice in the closing seconds. Winston didn't get much help offensively from his teammates, none of whom scored in double digits.
