Vanderbilt knocks off No. 1 Tennessee

Commodores led by Foster's 32 points

Shan Foster, who scored a game-high 32 points, and his Commodores teammates rose above Ramar Smith and top-ranked Tennessee. (MEL EVANS/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Tennessee Volunteers found out being No. 1 can be tougher than beating No. 1.

Shan Foster scored 32 points and No. 18 Vanderbilt knocked off Tennessee, 72-69, last night in Nashville - a day after the Vols moved into the top spot in the men's rankings for the first time in school history.

The Vols (25-3, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) beat then-No. 1 Memphis Saturday night, 66-62, on the western edge of Tennessee for their ninth straight victory to earn that spot themselves, then had to travel back to the middle part of the state to defend their top ranking for the first time.

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said his Vols weren't exhausted by two road games against instate rivals in about 72 hours.

"I thought we put ourselves in a position in the second half on the road to be able to gut one out again, and they got a period there in the second half defensively where we just fouled them and sent them to the foul line a boatload of times. I thought that was a real difference," Pearl said.

Vanderbilt (24-4, 9-4) has hosted the No. 1 team nine times in its 56 years at Memorial Gym, and the Commodores improved to 6-3 overall in those games with victories in the past four, including then-No. 1 Florida last year. The Commodores also now have won all 18 home games this season and 31 of their last 32.

"It's special," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "We needed a win. It was a home game. It's a big game for them. You want to win any game, but you certainly want to win big games. This was a big game."

Jermaine Beal added 17 points and Alex Gordon 11 as Vanderbilt won its seventh straight.

UConn 79, Rutgers 61 - Brookline's Jeff Adrien scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the No. 15 Huskies over the host Scarlet Knights, UConn's 11th win in 12 games.

Stanley Robinson, who had 13 rebounds, and Craig Austrie both added 18 points for Connecticut (22-6, 11-4), which moved one game ahead of Marquette in fourth place in the Big East Conference, the last spot that secures a first-round bye in the league's tournament.

Freshman Earl Pettis had a season-high 18 points for the Scarlet Knights (10-19, 2-14).

Indiana 72, Ohio St. 69. - Armon Bassett scored 23 points and Eric Gordon added 17 to lead the 12th-ranked Hoosiers (24-4, 13-2 Big Ten) over the visiting Buckeyes - Dan Dakich's first coaching victory at Assembly Hall.

Dakich replaced Kelvin Sampson as Indiana's coach Friday, after Sampson resigned amid a phone-call scandal. Dakich barely won his first game Saturday night at Northwestern. But after 410 games as an Indiana assistant and one road game as head coach, he finally won one in Bloomington.

The Buckeyes (17-11, 8-7) were led by Kosta Koufos with 21 points. Ohio State lost its third straight.

Missouri St. 86, Drake 83 - At Springfield, Mo., Deven Mitchell scored 20 points and the Bears (15-15, 7-10 Missouri Valley) held off the No. 20 Bulldogs (24-4, 13-3), who were led by Josh Young's 18 points.

Merrimack 79, Bryant 60 - At North Andover, Darren Duncan's 30 points and nine rebounds lifted the Warriors (17-10, 12-10 Northeast-10) over the Bulldogs (16-11, 12-11), who got 15 points from Jerrann Wright.

Saint Rose 61, UMass-Lowell 60 - At Lowell, Steve Dagostino scored 16 points and hit a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining to give the Golden Knights (21-6, 18-4 NE-10) the victory over the host River Hawks (11-16, 8-14).

Franklin Pierce 77, AIC 58 - At Springfield, freshman Kinard Dozier's 26 points and 10 rebounds helped the Ravens (10-17, 6-16 NE-10) overtake the Yellow Jackets (10-17, 7-15).

Saint Michael's 86, Southern N.H. 78 - At Colchester, Vt., Brian Monahan totaled 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Purple Knights (8-18, 6-16 NE-10) closed their season with a win over the Penmen (12-15, 9-13).

Pace 81, Assumption 75 - At Pleasantville, N.Y, Ryan Williams's 27 points helped the Setters (14-13, 13-9 NE-10) over the Greyhounds (20-9, 14-8).

Commonwealth Coast quarterfinals: At Wenham, Jeff Derr scored a career-high 17 points off the bench as Gordon defeated Wentworth, 73-61 . . . At Milton, Mark Mastrullo tallied 16 points to lead top-seeded Curry to a 63-53 win over Endicott.

Great Northeast quarterfinal: At Providence, Elbie Murphy's 19 points and four steals led St. Joseph's (Maine) to a 71-68 victory over Johnson & Wales.

MASCAC quarterfinal: Matt McLaughlin's 22 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals boosted Bridgewater State over host Framingham State, 74-65.

Little East quarterfinals: Dan Holbrook and A.J. Tavarez scored 19 points each, Brandon Stephens had 15, and three other players reached double figures for host UMass Dartmouth in a 131-63 rout of UMass-Boston . . . At Providence, Bobby Bailey had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Anthony Fortes added 15 points and 10 rebounds as R.I. College ousted Plymouth State, 77-58 . . . Nate Anderson scored 19 points and Tyler Kathan finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead host Keene State to a 93-79 victory over Western Connecticut . . . Jamaal Caterina's career-best 33 points sparked host Southern Maine to a 79-69 win over Eastern Connecticut State.

Women
Pittsburgh 77, West Virginia 75 - Shavonte Zellous scored 29 points to help the host Panthers beat the No. 13 Mountaineers in overtime, ending a four-game losing streak.

Bentley 82, Southern Conn. 61 - At Waltham, Erica Kirwan scored a career-high 25 points, helping the Falcons (18-9, 15-7 Northeast-10) fend off the Owls (14-13, 10-12). Kate Lynch scored 15 points to become Southern Connecticut's all-time leading scorer with 1,748 points.

UMass-Lowell 80, Saint Rose 72 - At Lowell, Revital Carmon dominated inside with 22 points and 18 rebounds, and the River Hawks (13-14, 8-14 NE-10) held off the Golden Knights (13-14, 9-13).

Stonehill 63, Saint Anselm 57 - At Easton, Kelsey Simonds's 25 points and 10 rebounds helped the Skyhawks (22-4, 19-3 NE-10), ranked 11th in Division 2, secure their first outright regular-season championship since 1994-95 with a victory over the Hawks (6-21, 3-19).

Franklin Pierce 66, AIC 64 - At Springfield, Johannah Leedham scored 25 points, and her jumper at the buzzer gave the Ravens (23-4, 18-4 NE-10), ranked 19th in Division 2, the win over the Yellow Jackets (16-11, 12-10).

Bryant 62, Merrimack 58 - At North Andover, Kelsey O'Keefe's 21 points and 10 rebounds helped the Bulldogs stop the Warriors (9-19, 5-17 NE-10), who were led by Amanda Shannon's 23 points.

Southern N.H. 69, Saint . Michael's 59 - At Colchester, Vt., Stephanie Houghton scored 16 points, and her long 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime as the Penwomen (13-14, 9-13 NE-10) earned a conference tournament berth with an OT victory over the Knights (13-14, 9-13).

Pace 61, Assumption 55 - At Pleasantville, N.Y., Taylor Losey hit five 3-pointers on her way to 21 points, helping the Setters (11-16, 10-12 NE-10) surprise the Greyhounds (21-8, 15-7).

Little East quarterfinals: Stacey Kent scored 16 points in 17 minutes as host Southern Maine routed UMass-Dartmouth, 79-31 . . . At Danbury, Conn., Stacey Roberts led a balanced offense with 13 points as Western Connecticut ran past Plymouth State, 64-43.

Great Northeast quarterfinals: Johanna Santosuosso's 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists lifted Johnson & Wales to a 66-64 victory over Emerson at Providence . . . Stephanie Morrissey and Meghan Tracey split 30 points evenly as host Suffolk claimed a 72-56 win over Rivier.

MASCAC quarterfinal: At Fitchburg, Steph Payette led a balanced offense with 11 points as Fitchburg State overwhelmed Mass. College, 70-22.

Commonwealth Coast quarterfinal: At Dudley, Curtia Humbert scored 16 points and Lyndsey Bennett had 15 - all on 3-pointers - as Nichols beat Regis, 60-50.