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Tri-State Morning Tip-Off
A quick and easy daily recap of the night in area CBB and a look ahead to tonight's action.
Last night
UC 68 Colorado 62
It wasn’t pretty (36.7% FG), but the Bearcats (11-5/1-4) hopped on the bus, boarded the plane, and flew home with a road win that snapped a four game losing streak. UC saw a 12 point lead w/ 12:00 left in the game flipped to a one point deficit at the 4:20 mark. But the Bearcats made their final four field goal attempts and finished 8-for-8 from the line to close out victory. Simas Lukosius scored 16 points, including a couple of big three pointers late, to lead four Bearcats in double-figures. In a major plot twist, UC hit FT’s (76.2) while the usually sharpshooting Buffalos missed eight on the night, including big ones in the final two minutes.
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Cleveland State 76 NKU 58
The Norse (9-10/4-4) troubles continued with a third straight loss. NKU was outrebounded 35-31, with CSU scoring 19 second chance points on 16 offensive rebounds. Keeyan Itejere finished with 11 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, and three blocked shots. Sam Vinson added 17 points and Trey Robinson 16. NKU margin of defeat during the three game skid: 11-15-18.
The Norse are now 1-7 on the road.
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George Mason 67 UD 59
What’s up with the Flyers? UD has lost three straight games in A-10 play for the first time since losing four consecutive in January of 2014. Their 26 game homecourt winning streak is done. The game wasn’t as close as the final score might indicate. The Patriots led by as many as 20 points in the second half. Dayton used a 13-0 run in the final four minutes to cut the deficit to 65-59 with 13 seconds left. UD was without Posh Alexander (foot). Nate Santos led the Flyers with 20 points, while sophomore Malachi Smith added 14 points and five assists in the contest.
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Purdue 69 Washington 58
The Boilers (14-4/6-1) have gone streakin’ That six straight wins in a row in Big Ten play. Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 19 points to help Purdue dig out of a hole. They trailed by 10 late in the first half and were down by eight at the break, but opened the second period with an 11-2 surge to storm back in front. Braden Smith: 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals. In the last 20 years, just one Purdue player has had at least 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in the same game – Smith, who has done it twice this season. All six of Purdue's wins during its current streak have come by double-digits, as well as five straight wins by double-digits in Big Ten play. The last time Purdue won five straight Big Ten games by 10 or more points came from Feb. 21 to March 5, 1988. The Boilermakers have won at least six straight games in Big Ten play in four straight years.
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Purdue Ft. Wayne 120 Wright State 113 (2 OT)
What a shootout, and what a homecourt crusher for Wright State. The Raiders (9-10/3-5) led most of the way, before ending regulation tied at 90-90. The Raiders held a five-point lead with a minute to play in the first overtime, but the Mastodons responded with the final five points to force a second extra session. In the second overtime, the Raiders scored four of the first seven points before Purdue Fort Wayne three-pointer gave the visitors the lead that turned out to be for good. Alex Huibregtse turned in a season-best and game-high 31 points on a night where he became the 39th Raider to join the 1,000 point club.
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Of note
LSU 78 Arkansas 74
John Calipari’s Razorbacks are now 0-4 after the road loss, tied for last place in the SEC.
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Butler 82 Seton Hall 77
My Bulldogs snapped a nine game losing streak, winning for the first time since December 3.
