BURLINGTON, Vt. — Anne Simon hit a jumper with 3:28 left and the University of Maine women’s basketball team rallied to beat the University of Vermont 64-58 in its America East opener on Thursday.
The Black Bears (4-7, 1-0) closed on a 15-1 run to beat the Catamounts (6-6, 0-1).
Caroline Bornemann scored 16 points for Maine, including three 3-pointers. Simon finished with 12 and Maeve Carroll added 11.
Anna Olson had 18 points, Emma Utterback 14 and Jose Larkins 13 for Vermont.
SUSQUEHANNA 72, BATES 67: The River Hawks (8-2) took the lead for good on an Amalia Esposito layup with 8:01 to play and closed on a 23-13 run to beat the Bobcats (7-2) in the WPI Holiday Tournament in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Olivia Brandt had 16 points to lead five players in double figures for Susquehanna.
Meghan Graff had 22 points to pace Bates, Morgan Kennedy had 16 and Mia Roy 10.
MISSOURI 70, (1) SOUTH CAROLINA 69: Lauren Hansen made a driving layup with 0.1 seconds left and the Tigers (12-2) stunned the Gamecocks (12-1) in overtime in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams in Columbia, Missouri.
The Tigers overcame the absence of scoring leader Aijha Blackwell and four other players to beat a No. 1 team for the first time in program history. It marked only the seventh time an unranked team has beaten the top-ranked team.
South Carolina was coming off its biggest comeback in school history, overcoming an 18-point deficit to beat No. 2 Stanford last Tuesday. On Thursday night, the Tigers always had an answer when the Gamecocks cut it close.
(3) LOUISVILLE 79, BOSTON COLLEGE 49: Emily Engstler scored 14 points and the Cardinals (11-1, 1-0 ACC) beat the Eagles (8-4, 0-2) in Louisville, Kentucky.
Hailey Van Lith and Payton Verhulst each scored 12 points, and Olivia Cochran and Liz Dixon each added 10 for Louisville.
Taylor Soule scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half for Boston College.
(5) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 79, CLEMSON 52: Jada Boyd had a season-high 18 points and eight rebounds as the Wolfpack (12-2, 3-0 ACC) won their 13th straight over the Tigers (6-7, 0-2) in Clemson, South Carolina.
(7) TENNESSEE 62, ALABAMA 44: Jordan Walker scored 16 points, Tamari Key added 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Volunteers (12-1) beat the Crimson Tide (9-3) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Leading by six at halftime, the Lady Volunteers missed their first seven shots of the third quarter as the Crimson Tide rallied to tie it at 35.
VIRIGINIA TECH 77, (15) DUKE 55: Elizabeth Kitley scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Georgia Amoore scored 20 and the Hokies (10-2, 2-0 ACC) dismantled the Blue Devils (9-2, 1-0 ACC) in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Kitley recorded her sixth double-double of the season which leads the Atlantic Coast Conference. She also collected three steals. Amoore grabbed six rebounds, distributed six assists and committed just one turnover. The two combined to make 16 of the Hokies’ 24-made baskets.
(19) LSU 68, (13) GEORGIA 62: Khayla Pointer scored 21 points, including two clutch 3-pointers down the stretch, and the Tigers (13-1) defeated the Bulldogs (11-2) despite blowing a 16-point third-quarter lead in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams in Athens, Georgia
Georgia played without leading scorer and rebounder Jenna Staiti, who status for Sunday’s game at Florida is uncertain.
Pointer banked in a long 3 at the halftime buzzer to give LSU at 41-33 lead. After scoring the first eight points of the second half, Georgia rallied and had three, one-point leads after baskets by Georgia’s Sarah Ashlee Barker in the fourth; the last with 3:14 remaining.
(24) NORTH CAROLINA 79, SYRACUSE 43: Alyssa Ustby scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for her sixth double-double and added six assists as the Tar Heels (12-0, 2-0 ACC) swamped the Orange (8-5, 1-2) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
RUTGERS 80, MAINE 64: Ron Harper Jr. scored 19 points, Clifford Omoruyi had 14 points and eight rebounds and the Scarlet Knights (6-5) beat the Black Bears (3-8) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Rutgers hadn’t played since Dec. 12, a 77-63 loss to No. 23 Seton Hall, following a pause due to COVID-19.
Aundre Hyatt gave Rutgers a 33-22 lead during an 11-0 run late in the first half and Maine trailed by double figures the rest of the game. Rutgers led by as many as 20 points in the second half as Maine only made three field goals in the final eight minutes.
Paul Mulcahy, who entered with four 3-pointers on the season, made a career-high four 3’s on four attempts and finished with 14 points for Rutgers. Caleb McConnell added 13 points, and Rutgers had a season-high 21 assists on 27 field goals.
Harper was 6 of 8 from the field, 2 of 3 from distance and 5 of 7 at the line. He moved past Tom Savage, Jamal Phillips and Doug Patton for 23rd on the program’s career scoring list.
LeChaun DuHart scored a career-high 22 points and Ata Turgut added a career-high 15 for Maine.
BOWDOIN 76, BRIDGEWATER STATE 63: Michael Simonds scored a career-high 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, as the Polar Bears (8-3) beat the Bears (2-9) in the first round of the Holiday Invitational in Williamantic, Connecticut.
Afamdi Achufusi added 10 points and pulled down 11 boards for Bowdoin.
Allan Pettway led Bridgewater State with 15 points.
FOOTBALL
DUKE’S MAYO BOWL: South Carolina coach Shane Beamer had a bucket of mayonnaise dumped over his head Thursday, putting a memorable and messy finish on the Gamecocks’ 38-21 victory over North Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jaheim Bell had five catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns for South Carolina (7-6), which rebounded nicely after it lost 30-0 to Clemson in its regular-season finale on Nov. 27. Kevin Harris added 169 yards rushing and a score, helping secure the mayo bath for Beamer.
MUSIC CITY BOWL: Mitchell Fineran kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Purdue finished off its best season since 2003 by overcoming a 14-point deficit and beating Tennessee (7-6) 48-45 in a record-setting in Nashville, Tennessee.
Purdue (9-4) tied for the second-most wins in program history as only the 12th team in the Boilermakers’ 134-year history to win nine games. They also won their fifth game away from home, something they hadn’t done since 1943.
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