Associated Press
SYRACUSE, NY — Jayden Gardner scored 17 points and made a jump near the foul line in the last minute as No. 6 Virginia held off a second-half surge from Syracuse and his seventh straight game on Monday night at 67: 62 won.
Gardner, a fifth-grader, drew a minute from the end of the fifth foul on Syracuse big man Jesse Edwards, then converted the shot with 37 seconds left to hit the Cavaliers (17-3, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference ). at four up.
“You have to have the mentality of a shooter,” Gardner said. “I missed a good look at the baseline so I made up for it on defense and finished the game. I was hoping (for the charge). If he had called a block it would have been demoralizing.”
Kihei Clark and Armaan Franklin each scored 12 points for Virginia, who defeated Syracuse and drew within a game of ACC leader Clemson.
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Judah Mintz had 20 points and Edwards had 14 for Syracuse (13-10, 6-6), who have lost four of five.
Virginia led twice by eight points early in the first half, the biggest advantage for both teams. The Cavaliers took a 46-39 lead early in the second half before Syracuse started a 12-0 run that included a three-point play from Mintz, a 3-point and three free throws from Chris Bell, and a three- Points game involved Edwards.
“In the first half we started well defensively and made a lot of shots, then Syracuse really took it. They simply got the ball in the color at will, scored over the top. We looked a little lifeless,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “We didn’t fly around and wreck like you have to do on the street or in any ACC game. In the second half we got more aggressive, flew around, played a little harder offensively with cuts and offensive rebounds, and then it was just a game of ups and downs. We just had to stay the course.
“It is,” he added. “You get the best of everyone.”
Franklin helped rally the Cavaliers by hitting consecutive 3s for a 57-54 lead. Clark contributed a 3 with 3:10 remaining and two free throws with 2:35 remaining to give Virginia a six point advantage.
The Cavaliers had a quick turnaround, flying to Syracuse Sunday night after beating Boston College at home a day earlier.
“I think our tired legs showed,” Gardner said, “but we found a way to win. Not every game becomes a blowout. This was a grind-it-out game, so it’s good to come up with another way to win. It’s a good experience, so we’ll know what to do with it in March.”
Syracuse closed two points late, but Edward’s offensive foul cost the Orange a change to level the game.
The Orange shot 50% against Virginia’s typically strong defense, but only went 3 of 15 from 3-point range and 11 of 18 (61.1%) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Virginia shot 9 of 21 (42.9%) from long range and managed to feed Gardner into the post for easy baskets against the Syracuse Zone.
“We played by far the best game we’ve played all year,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. “We had a lot of open shots. You won’t beat Virginia if you shoot 3/15/3. If we make our free throws, we win.
“They beat us like they beat everyone else.”
Baylor guard Keyonte George looks to shoot while Texas guard Arterio Morris defends in the first half of Monday’s game in Austin, Texas.
Stephen Spillman, Associated Press
NO. 10 TEXAS 76, NO. 11 Baylor 71: AUSTIN, Texas — Sir’Jabari Rice scored 21 points and Timmy Allen added 19 to send Texas to a win over Baylor in Austin, ending the Bears’ six-game winning streak and leaving the Longhorns in first place in the Big 12 to keep .
Rice hit four 3-pointers in the second half and his two free throws by 16 seconds gave Texas (18-4, 7-2) a five-point lead.
Baylor (16-6, 5-4) had closed to 72-71 after Keyonte George’s three-point game before Texas responded with Marcus Carr’s fallaway jumper with 27 seconds remaining. It was Carr’s first goal of the second half and only his second of the game.
Rice, a 29% 3 point shooter in the Big 12 game, was 4 of 5 long range shots. Allen was 7 of 10 off the floor and made two free throws in the last minute that put the Longhorns up by four.
LJ Cryer scored 19 points to lead four Baylor players by double digits.
Texas Tech’s Kevin Obanor (above) rebounds the ball over teammate Kerwin Walton (second from left) and Iowa State’s Tre King (right) during the first half of Monday’s game in Lubbock, Texas.
Brad Tollefson, Associated Press
TEXAS TECH 80, NO. 13 State of Iowa 77 (OT): Texas Tech erased a 23-point deficit after halftime for its first Big 12 win of the season, with De’Vion Harmon scoring all 16 points after the break in an overtime win over Iowa State in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders were down 59-36, 12:36 remaining after one of Caleb Grill’s career-best eight 3-pointers, but a 20-3 run to finish the stretch began not long after.
Kevin Obanor had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Raiders (12-10, 1-8 Big 12) as they won their second straight game, including a win over LSU in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Grill scored 24 points but missed his final three 3-pointers after starting 8 of 9. One came in a frantic game ending sequence in which the Cyclones (15-6, 6-3) missed three from long range and attempted to force a second as time went on.
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