Blakely, Vermont home in on Terriers
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It was a subpar shooting game by Marqus Blakely's high standards, but it's unlikely anyone in Burlington, Vt., was complaining.
The junior notched his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and snaring 10 rebounds as Vermont subdued visiting Hartford, 71-63, last night and climbed within a half-game of America East-leading Boston University.
Vermont plays host to the Terriers (14-9, 9-2) tomorrow night. BU has won eight straight since dropping a 70-56 decision to the Catamounts at Agganis Arena Jan. 14.
After shooting 67.4 percent over his previous 10 games, Blakely was 6 for 10 from the field against the Hawks. He also contributed 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 3 steals.
Mike Trimboli also scored 17 points for the Catamounts (18-7, 9-3), including 9 of his team's last 10. Freshman Garvey Young added 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Hawks (6-19, 2-9) were led by Jaret von Rosenberg, who scored 13 points. A 3-pointer by Rosenberg capped a 20-4 run that pulled Hartford within 3 late in the second half. But Vermont pulled away, with Trimboli hitting seven straight from the line in the final minutes.
Pittsburgh 70, West Virginia 59 - Sam Young scored 20 points for the fourth-ranked Panthers, who seized the lead with a late first-half run and went on to beat the visiting Mountaineers.
Young hit seven of 12 shots and added seven rebounds. Levance Fields had 13 points and seven assists to help the Panthers (22-2, 9-2 Big East) win their fourth in a row and sixth in seven games.
Alex Ruoff scored 17 points and Devin Ebanks 16, but West Virginia (16-8, 5-6) lost its sixth in seven games against ranked Big East teams even though Pitt's DeJuan Blair was in foul trouble most of the game.
Pittsburgh, known for its defense, had scored 90 points or more in succession against DePaul, Robert Morris, and Notre Dame. But Blair, coming off a 32-point, 14-rebound game against DePaul Saturday, sat out most of the first half after drawing his second foul with 15:14 remaining in the half. He didn't score until getting Pitt's first two baskets of the second half. He finished with 8 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes.
Missouri 62, Kansas 60 - Zaire Taylor hit a 10-footer from just outside the lane with 1.3 seconds to go for the 17th-ranked Tigers (21-4, 8-2 Big 12), who came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat the 16th-ranked Jayhawks (19-5, 8-1).
DeMarre Carroll had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers, who won their 16th in a row at home against a bitter border rival that had beaten them five straight times. Fans from a raucous sellout crowd of 15,061 mobbed the floor after Cole Aldrich's desperation shot banged off the backboard at the buzzer as he was being knocked to the floor.
Jessica Breland added 14 points and a career-high 23 rebounds for the Tar Heels (21-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to win their fourth straight in the series. North Carolina shot 64 percent after halftime and pushed ahead for good midway through the second half.
North Carolina had a 54-38 rebounding advantage against the Blue Devils (19-3, 7-2).
Central Conn. 70, St. Francis (Pa.) 67 - Freshman Shontice Simmons had 14 points to lead five Blue Devils in double figures, and host Central Connecticut (15-8, 10-3) secured a spot in the Northeast Conference tournament with an overtime win over the Red Flash (9-14, 7-5).
