The University of New England took the lead late in the first half, then opened the second with a 15-0 run to take control in an 80-61 win over Curry in a Commonwealth Coast Conference women’s basketball game Tuesday at Milton, Massachusetts.

Kaylee Bayor’s layup with 2:33 left in the half gave the Nor’easters (17-5, 11-3) a 34-33 lead against the Colonels (7-15, 2-12).

Jordyn Franzen and Bayor had 18 points apiece to pace five players for UNE in double figures. Sydney Jenisch had 15 points, Faye Veilleux 14 and Juliana Tracey 13.

Olivia Gourdine scored 17 points for Curry.

(21) CREIGHTON 77, XAVIER 46: Mallory Brake and Lauren Jensen scored 17 points apiece, Morgan Maly added 14 and Creighton (19-3, 10-2 Big East) cruised past Xavier (1-19, 0-11) at Cincinnati for its ninth straight win.

Brake surpassed her previous career best of 12 points, shooting 7 of 8 from the field to go with eight rebounds. Jensen hit 7 of 14 field goals, Maly was 5-of-7 shooting, and they combined for seven of Creighton’s 12 buckets from long range.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SOUTHERN MAINE 89, COLBY 72: Tommy Whelan scored 23 points, Justin Allen added 21 and Chance Dixon had 20 as the sharp-shooting Huskies (12-10) defeated Colby (11-11) at Waterville.

Allen scored 15 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer in the final second that gave USM a 39-33 lead. The Huskies shot 53 percent for the game, including 12 of 24 on 3-pointers.

Max Poulton led the Mules with 19 points.

CURRY 89, UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND 83: Jason Romans scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half as the Colonels (12-11, 6-9 Commonwealth Coast) overcame the Nor’easters (5-17, 0-14) at Milton, Massachusetts.

Adrian Torres scored 20 points and Adam Lux added 18 for UNE, which led 37-33 at halftime.

CLEMSON 80, (3) NORTH CAROLINA 76: PJ Hall had 25 points, including the go-ahead putback with 3:14 left as Clemson (15-7, 5-6 Atlantic Coast)survived a blown 16-point lead to stun North Carolina (18-5, 10-2) at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, earning a marquee win for a team seeking to improve its NCAA tournament chances.

Joseph Girard III added 21 points for the Tigers, including a huge 3-pointer at the 2:09 mark to follow Hall’s basket. That was part of a 7-0 spurt that provided just enough as the Tigers never trailed, yet had to compete to the final seconds to secure the win against the Tar Heels, who were coming off an emotional rivalry win against No. 9 Duke three days earlier.

(5) HOUSTON 79, OKLAHOMA STATE 63: Jamal Shead scored 23 points, Emanuel Sharp added 16 and Houston (20-3, 7-3 Big 12) beat visiting Oklahoma State (10-13, 2-8).

Houston played most of the second half without Coach Kelvin Sampson, who got two technical fouls and was ejected with 15:08 remaining. Sampson stormed to the other end of the court and started yelling at the officials.

(15) SOUTH CAROLINA 68, MISSISSIPPI 65: Collin Murray-Boyles scored 16 points and South Carolina (20-3, 8-2 Southeastern) reached 20 victories for the first time in seven years by beating Mississippi (18-5, 5-5) at Columbia, South Carolina.