Deacons sting Yellow Jackets

Vytas Danelius made sure his senior season was perfect at home, getting 17 points and 11 rebounds last night in Winston-Salem, N.C., night to lead No. 4 Wake Forest to a 98-91 victory over Georgia Tech.

The Demon Deacons (25-4, 12-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from 11 points down in the second half to pull out the win and finish the season 16-0 at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

The victory also kept them in contention for the ACC regular-season crown.

If Wake Forest wins Sunday's finale at North Carolina State, and North Carolina loses one of its remaining two games, the Deacons win the title based on a tiebreaker.

Kentucky 73, Tennessee 61 -- Senior forward Chuck Hayes, playing his last home game for Kentucky, scored 9 of his 13 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes as the third-ranked Wildcats held off the upset-minded Volunteers in Lexington, Ky.

Patrick Sparks scored 14 points -- all in the first half -- for the Wildcats (23-3, 14-1), who already had clinched the Southeastern Conference title. Kentucky has one regular-season game remaining, at Florida Sunday.

Kansas 72, Kansas St. 65 -- Wayne Simien had 25 points and 20 rebounds and the No. 7 Jayhawks celebrated the 50th anniversary of Allen Fieldhouse with a victory over the Wildcats in Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks (22-4, 12-3) clinched at least a tie for the Big 12 championship with their 30th straight win over the Wildcats (15-11, 5-10).

Oklahoma St. 69, Texas A&M 63 -- John Lucas III scored 27 points, Joey Graham added 16, and the No. 8 Cowboys beat the Aggies in Stillwater, Okla., their closest home win of the season.

Oklahoma State, coming off consecutive losses for the first time all season, didn't score a field goal in the final five minutes, but they hit 15 straight free throws down the stretch to hold off A&M.

Michigan St. 69, Northwestern 58 -- Maurice Ager scored 20 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that curtailed a Northwestern comeback, and the No. 14 Spartans held on to beat the Wildcats in Evanston, Ill.

Villanova 79, Seton Hall 58 -- Randy Foye scored a career-high 27 points and Curtis Sumpter added 19 to lead the 19th-ranked Wildcats over the visiting Pirates.

Alabama 94, Auburn 53 -- Earnest Shelton and Kennedy Winston each scored 24 points to lead No. 21 Alabama over the Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Ala., snapping the Crimson Tide's two-game losing streak with a flourish.

Cincinnati 77, Tulane 56 -- In Cincinnati, Jihad Muhammad scored a career-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and Jason Maxiell added 18 points, leading the No. 22 Bearcats over the slumping Green Wave.

Rhode Island 65, Temple 57 -- Scott Hazelton scored 20 points as the Rams snapped a 10-game losing streak against Temple with a win over the Owls in South Kingston, R.I.

Wheaton 91, Emerson 63 -- Josean Vega led four players in double figures with 19 points as the Lyons routed the Lions in Norton. Mike Stanton had 18 points, Sean Kelly had 16, and Brian Zukowski added 15 in the victory. Will Dawkins led all scorers with 21 points for Emerson.

WNEC 70, Plymouth St. 68 -- Anthony Charbatji's 17 points led four players in double figures and overcame a 31-point effort from Plymouth State's Nick Pelotte as the Golden Bears rallied in the second half to slip past the host Panthers.

Colby-Sawyer 89, Keene St. 61 -- Andrew St. Clair had 29 points, including 16 of his team's first 36, as the Chargers ripped the Owls in the ECAC quarterfinals in New London, N.H.

Pat Kenny had 16, James Thorpe added 14, and Collin Bray had 10 in the win. Sean Sullivan led Keene State with 14.

R.I. College 83, Lasell 66 -- Kevin Payette had 18 points and 14 rebounds to offset a 24-point performance from Demetrius DeJesus as the Anchormen cruised past the Lasers in Providence.

Women's basketball

Kansas St. 80, Missouri 53 -- Kendra Wecker scored 21 of her 26 points in the second half, leading the No. 17 Wildcats over the Tigers in Columbia, Mo.

Northeastern 60, Binghamton 56 -- Francesca Vanin had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lift the Huskies over the Bearcats at Solomon Court. Jody Burrows added 16 points, including a 3-for-4 night on 3-pointers. Laine Kurpniece led the Bearcats with 14 points.

Brandeis 64, WNEC 40 -- Jaime Capra's 19 points lifted the top-seeded Judges over the eighth-seeded Golden Bears in the ECAC quarterfinals in Waltham in Division 3.

Capra was the only Brandeis player in double figures, but the Judges never trailed in the game, forcing 29 turnovers for 39 points.

Fitchburg St. 60, Babson 46 -- D'Yana Delpero's 21 points led the Falcons over the Beavers in the ECAC Division 3 first round in Fitchburg.

Jen Fontaine had 15 points and Katie Redican had 12 as the Falcons outscored the Beavers, 27-15, in the second half.

Southern Maine 83, Maine Maritime 67 -- Ashley Marble's 19 points and 12 rebounds lifted the Huskies over the Beavers at Gorham, Maine. Katie Sibley added 18 and Katie Frost had 15 in the Division 3 first-round game.

The Beavers were led by Julia Knights and Michelle Gott with 22 and 21 points, respectively.

Men's hockey

Southern N.H. 6, St. Michael's 3 -- Josh Douglas scored two goals and added an assist and goaltender Martin Stehl made 30 saves to lift the Penmen over the Purple Knights in the Northeast-10 tournament semifinal in Colchester, Vt.

Southern New Hampshire will face top-seeded St. Anselm in Saturday's championship game. St. Anselm advanced to the final for the sixth straight year with a 4-1 victory over Assumption.

Curry 8, Plymouth St. 3 -- The Colonels got five goals in the first period and Manu Mau'u had two goals and an assist in their victory over the Panthers in the ECAC Northeast semifinals in Milton.

UMass-Dartmouth 3, Wentworth 2 -- Goalie Kevin McGowan turned back 28 shots and Kyle McCullough scored the third goal and assisted on another to lift the Corsairs over the Leopards in the other Northeast semifinal game in New Bedford.