INDIANAPOLIS — Kethan Savage scored five of his 13 points during a decisive seven-point run to give No. 18 Butler a 66-58 victory over No. 1 Villanova on Wednesday night, ending the Wildcats’ 20-game winning streak.

Butler (13-2, 2-1 Big East) improved to 4-0 against ranked opponents this season and extended its home winning streak to 12 games by beating a top-ranked team for the second time in school history.

The Bulldogs did it by upending the defending national champion and stopping the longest winning streak in Villanova history. Jalen Brunson had 23 points and Josh Hart scored 13 on a rugged shooting night for the Wildcats (14-1, 2-1), beaten for the first time since a 69-67 loss to Seton Hall in the Big East championship game last March.

From there, the Wildcats won all six games in the NCAA Tournament before opening 14-0 this season.

(2) BAYLOR 65, IOWA STATE 63: Manu Lecomte made a short high-arcing jumper over a defender with 8 seconds left and the Bears (14-0), 2-0 Big 12) defeated Iowa State (9-4, 1-1) at Waco, Texas.

The Cyclones (9-4, 1-1) had one more chance after a timeout, but Monte Morris’ baseline jumper was no good as time expired.

Advertisement

Baylor fans chanted “No. 1 !, No. 1!” when the game ended following the loss by Villanova.

(8) DUKE 110, GEORGIA TECH 57: Grayson Allen had 15 points and seven assists in his return from a one-game suspension for tripping an opponent, and the Blue Devils (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) routed Georgia Tech at Durham, North Carolina, in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game before leaving the team to have back surgery.

USM 71, MAINE MARITIME 57: James Starks III led the Huskies with game highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Southern Maine (5-7) pulled away from the Mariners (3-8) at Castine.

Christian McCue added 21, while Jalen Lincoln grabbed 12 boards and dished out 10 assists for the Huskies, who closed the game on 12-4 run.

Tyler Thayer led Maine Maritime with 18 points, Nicholas DePatsy had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Brendan Newcomb tossed in 11 points.

ST. JOSEPH’S 67, ANNA MARIA 65: Mario Nery scored the final four points of overtime, all on free throws, and the Monks (6-5, 3-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference) outlasted the AmCats (2-9, 2-2) at Standish.

Advertisement

St. Joseph’s had a 30-27 at halftime and the second half featured 10 lead changes and ties.

Ian Mileikis led the Monks with 18 points. Quinn Richardson-Newton had 12 points and hit a jumper with 2:58 left in regulation to even the game at 61 and send it to overtime.

Kenneth Graham paced Anna Maria with 14 points. Mike Rapoza had 13 points and grabbed a game-high 13 boards.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

(1) CONNECTICUT 90, EAST CAROLINA 45: Napheesa Collier scored 21 points and host UConn (14-0, 2-0 American) beat East Carolina (9-6, 0-2) for the program’s 89th straight win, moving the Huskies within a game of their own NCAA record.

(2) BAYLOR 91, (17) WEST VIRGINIA 56: Alexis Jones scored 21 points, Kalani Brown had 16 points and 11 rebounds and the Bears (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) rolled at West Virginia (13-2, 1-2).

Advertisement

(3) MARYLAND 93, NEBRASKA 49: Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter, and Maryland (14-1, 2-0 Big Ten) ran off to a victory at Nebraska (4-11 0-3).

VERMONT 55, MAINE 52: Laia Sole scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half but it wasn’t enough as the Catamounts (4-9) held on to beat the Black Bears (7-9) in an America East opener at Burlington, Vermont.

Sole shot 8 of 13 from the field but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would’ve tied the game. Julie Brosseau knocked down five 3-pointers for 15 points but missed a 3 with 18 seconds left in the fourth that would have given the Black Bears the lead.

Maine opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run, six coming from Sole, to tie the game at 40 with 6:34 left. Vermont responded with a 6-2 spurt to take a 46-42 lead with 4:17 left.

Brousseau’s fifth 3-pointer brought Maine to within 53-52. Kallie Banker extended the lead with a free throw and Brousseau missed the potential go-ahead 3-pointer.

HUSSON 83, USM 61: Darla Morales scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in the first half and the Eagles (6-2) pulled away early against the Huskies (2-9) at Gorham.

Advertisement

Morales scored seven points during an 18-6 spurt at the end of the first quarter to give Husson a 29-17 lead. The Eagles led 42-27 at halftime.

Morales shot 9 of 14 from the field with three 3-pointers, while Denae Johnson had 17 points, seven rebounds and six steals.

Emily Nicholson scored 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers to lead Southern Maine. Jackie Luckhardt had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

SACRED HEART 5, USM 0: Sarah Erban stopped 22 shots as the Pioneers (8-6-1) shut out the Huskies (3-9) at Gorham.

Taylor Moreland had a pair of goals for Sacred Heart and Meghan Kebalka had a goal and an assist.

Whitney Padgett had 23 saves for Southern Maine.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.