No. 2 Gonzaga hands North Carolina 4th straight loss

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Corey Kispert scored 26 points, Filip Petrusev added 20 and No. 2 Gonzaga rolled past North Carolina 94-81 on Wednesday night, handing the Tar Heels their fourth straight loss.

One of the most highly anticipated games ever inside Gonzaga’s gym was a party for most of the night for the home team. The Bulldogs (12-1) won their fourth straight since suffering their only loss of the season against Michigan in the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Garrison Brooks led North Carolina (6-5) with 16 points, but the Tar Heels have dropped four straight for the first time since the 2009-10 season. It’s been a brutal stretch for the Tar Heels with the Zags the fifth opponent ranked in the top 10 in North Carolina’s past six games.

Then there’s the injuries. North Carolina learned Monday it would be without star point guard Cole Anthony for four-to-six weeks following surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his right knee. Anthony sat during Sunday’s loss to Wofford as did guard Leaky Black. Black returned Wednesday and had six points in nine minutes.

North Carolina also played the second half without Brandon Robinson, who was feeling ill. He played 16 minutes of the first half and didn’t score.

NO. 3 LOUISVILLE 70, MIAMI OF OHIO 46

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jordan Nwora scored 20 points and No. 3 Louisville pulled away with a 17-0 run to beat Miami of Ohio.

Ryan McMahon added 11 points for Louisville (11-1), and Dwayne Sutton tied a career-high with 15 rebounds.

Mekhi Lairy led the Redhawks (5-6) with 10 points.

While the Cardinals never trailed, it was much closer than the final score indicated. Louisville used a 14-2 first-half run to take a 12-point lead, but the Redhawks cut it to 28-25 on Dalonte Brown’s dunk 1:10 into the second half.

Miami trailed just 44-40 with 9:02 left after Josh Brewer’s 3-pointer. The Cardinals used the 17-0 run over the next 5:17 to finally put away the pesky Redhawks.

CINCINNATI 78, NO. 21 TENNESSEE 66

CINCINNATI (AP) — Trevon Scott scored 15 points and Cincinnati recovered from back-to-back losses by knocking off Tennessee.

The Bearcats (7-4) got the better of a back-and-forth game by getting inside one of the country’s stingiest defenses for close-up baskets. Forty-six of Cincinnati’s points came in the paint.

Keith Williams had a steal and layup during a 9-0 run that put the Bearcats in control 67-57 with 3:27 left. Williams finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

For a second straight game, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes came up short again in his attempt to get career victory No. 700. He’d be only the 22nd coach to reach that mark in Division I.

The Volunteers (7-3) were coming off a 51-47 loss to No. 13 Memphis that highlighted their offensive shortcomings. Tennessee has lost back-to-back games for the first time in two seasons. John Fulkerson had a team-high 14 points. The Volunteers were 3 of 15 from beyond the arc.

NO. 9 VIRGINIA 56, STONY BROOK 44

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Kihei Clark scored 14 points and Jay Huff had eight of his 12 during a second-half run for Virginia.

Huff ended a 5-minute scoreless drought for the Cavaliers (9-1) with a putback dunk with 12:11 remaining and added six more points as Virginia turned a 35-30 lead into a 49-38 edge.

Elijah Olaniyi scored 11 for Stony Brook (7-6).

NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 77, NORTHWESTERN 72

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Xavier Tillman had 15 points and 10 rebounds, helping Michigan State beat Northwestern.

Winston went 8 for 16 from the field for the Spartans (8-3, 2-0 Big Ten) in their 11th consecutive victory against the Wildcats. Boo Buie scored a career-high 26 points for Northwestern (5-5, 0-2).

NO. 20 SAN DIEGO STATE 92, SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN 48

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Yanni Wetzell scored 17 points and No. 20 San Diego State beat NAIA San Diego Christian to remain undefeated.

SDSU (11-0) was playing for the first time in 10 days and for the first time since jumping into The Associated Press Top 25. The Aztecs moved up five spots Monday despite not playing last week.

The Aztecs are off to their best start since opening 20-0 behind Kawhi Leonard in 2010-11, when they reached the Sweet 16 for the first time and finished 34-3. They are one of four remaining undefeated teams.

San Diego Christian’s Marc Combs scored all 14 of his points in the first half.