Jahmir Young scored 20 points to lead host Maryland to a 68-54 upset win over No. 3 Purdue on Thursday night in College Park, Md.
The Terrapins (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten) blew past the Boilermakers with an extended 29-4 stretch in the second half. They won their second in a row and picked up another NCAA Tournament resume-boosting victory after nearly knocking off Purdue on the road on Jan. 22.
Zach Edey and Braden Smith each scored 18 points to lead the Boilermakers (23-4, 12-4), who lost for the third time in four games. Edey finished with eight rebounds.
The momentum shifted dramatically with Purdue leading 37-31 just over four minutes into the second half. Mason Gillis was called for a foul and then charged with a technical for yelling at an official. The Terrapins capitalized, scoring eight straight points to cap a 10-0 run. They took the lead on Julian Reese’s layup with 13:46 left, and the surge swelled to 29-4 over nine-plus minutes as Purdue shot just 1-for-11 over that stretch.
No. 2 Houston 80, SMU 65
Marcus Sasser scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half as the visiting Cougars posted their sixth straight win, defeating the Mustangs in American Athletic Conference play in Dallas.
Jarace Walker added 14 points for the Cougars (24-2, 12-1 AAC), with Jamal Shead hitting for 13 and contributing eight assists.
Zhuric Phelps led all scorers with 22 points while Efe Odigie added 16 for SMU (9-18, 4-10), which has dropped 10 of 13 games.
No. 4 UCLA 73, Stanford 64
Freshman Will McClendon made the biggest splash of his career by hitting a late 3-pointer, and the Bruins turned back the upset-minded Cardinal in Los Angeles.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a game-high 26 points for the Bruins, who cemented UCLA’s fifth straight win. Jaylen Clark finished with 16 points.
Michael Jones had 15 points for the Cardinal, who lost for just the third time in their last nine games. Maxime Raynaud tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 8 Arizona 88, Utah 62
Kerr Kriisa scored 17 points to lead a balanced scoring effort as the Wildcats avenged an earlier loss to the Utes with a resounding victory in Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12) had eight players score at least seven points. Courtney Ramey had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Azuolas Tubelis scored all 11 of his points in the second half after battling foul trouble. He also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in 20 minutes.
Branden Carlson scored 19 points to lead the Utes (17-10, 10-6), who opened the conference season on Dec. 1 with a 15-point home victory over Arizona.
No. 13 Gonzaga 108, Loyola Marymount 65
Julian Strawther scored 28 points as the Bulldogs avenged their lone home loss of the season with a rout of the host Lions in a West Coast Conference matchup in Los Angeles.
Anton Watson scored 16 points and Drew Timme and Malachi Smith each had 13 for the Bulldogs (22-5, 11-2 WCC), who shot 60.6 percent in the rematch of a 68-67 loss to Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19, a result that ended the Zags’ 75-game winning streak at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Cam Shelton scored 15 points and Keli Leaupepe finished with 13 points for Loyola Marymount (17-11, 7-7), which also beat then-No. 15 Saint Mary’s 78-74 in overtime on Feb. 9.
No. 17 Saint Mary’s 62, San Diego 59
Mitchell Saxen recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds and the Gaels survived a long second-half slumber to eke out a victory over the host Toreros in West Coast Conference play.
Aidan Mahaney scored 13 points as first-place Saint Mary’s (23-5, 12-1 WCC) won for the 14th time in 15 games. The Gaels had a 23-point lead trimmed to three before defeating the Toreros for the 18th straight time.
Nic Lynch scored a season-high 17 points for the Toreros (11-17, 4-10), who were without leading scorer Marcellus Earlington and leading rebounder Eric Williams Jr.
Middle Tennessee 74, No. 25 Florida Atlantic 70
The Blue Raiders took over to start the second half and hung on to defeat the Owls in a Conference USA matchup in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Camryn Weston finished with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Blue Raiders (16-11, 9-7 C-USA). Elias King added 15 points, and Eli Lawrence and Justin Bufford chipped in 13 and 12.
Alijah Martin led the first-place Owls (24-3, 14-2) with 15 points, although he shot just 6 of 14. Vladislav Goldin added 14 points and Michael Forrest scored 13, hitting 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
