No. 14 Florida Atlantic knocks off No. 4 Arizona 96-95 in 2OT at Desert Classic
Arizona center Motiejus Kris (14) catches the rebound against Florida Atlantic guard Jalen Gaffney (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lucas Peltier)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Johnell Davis had 35 points and nine rebounds and No. 14 Florida Atlantic beat No. 4 Arizona 96-95 in double overtime on Saturday in the Desert Classic, the Owls’ first win over a top-10 team.
Giancarlo Rosado made the back end of two free throws with just under a minute remaining for what turned out to be the winning point for the Owls (10-2), who beat their second ranked opponent of the season. FAU defeated then-No. 12 Texas A&M 96-89 on Nov. 24.
Caleb Love, who led Arizona (9-2) with 26 points, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. He was one of five Wildcats to score in double figures. Pelle Larsson added 15 points.
Jalen Gaffney scored 20 points and Alijah Martin added 13 for FAU, which made a surprising run to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Vladislav Goldin, who entered leading the nation in shooting at 75.9% and FAU in scoring at 15.1 points per game and rebounds (7.0), was in foul trouble most of the game. He picked up his fifth foul in the first overtime and finished with seven points and three rebounds.
NO. 5 UCONN 69, ST. JOHN’S 65
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Tristen Newton scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, including a key free throw with just under 17 seconds left, and UConn held off St. John’s.
Samson Johnson, starting in place of injured center Donovan Clingan, added 16 points for the Huskies (11-2, 1-1 Big East) and Cam Spencer scored 15.
Joel Soriano had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead St. John’s, which had won six of seven. Daniss Jenkins added 13 points for the Red Storm (8-4, 1-1).
The Huskies will be without the 7-foot-2 Clingan for about a month. The school said the sophomore, who missed a month of the preseason with a right foot injury, injured a tendon in the same foot Wednesday during a loss at Seton Hall.
NO. 23 MEMPHIS 77, VANDERBILT 75
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — David Jones scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half as Memphis held on to deal Vanderbilt its fourth straight loss.
Jahvon Quinerly added 13 points for Memphis (10-2), which won its fifth straight.
Ezra Manjon led Vanderbilt with 22 points. Tasos Kamateros, Jason Rivera-Torres and Tyrin Lawrence each scored 12 points for Vanderbilt (4-8).
Lawrence hits two free throws with 13.3 seconds left to pull Vanderbilt within 75-73. From there it became a free-throw shooting contest as Jones and Jaqualon Roberts each split a pair of free throws. Then, Quinerly made one of two free throws and Memphis held a 77-74 advantage with 9 seconds left. Kamateros made one free throw, cutting the Memphis lead to the final 77-75 score.
NO. 25 MISSISSIPPI 89, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 72
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Matthew Murrell had a season-high 26 points and five assists, Jaylen Murray scored 21 points and unbeaten Mississippi defeated Southern Miss.
The victory extended one of the nation’s longest winning streaks and wrapped up a 2-0 week for an Ole Miss (12-0) team that’s ranked inside the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019.
Southern Miss (6-6) was led off the bench by Cobie Montgomery, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half. The Golden Eagles’ bench produced 40 points while the starting five hit just 10 field goals.
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