LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Top-ranked Kentucky gave up the first 11 points, still trailed at halftime and finally shook off a slow start to beat pesky Columbia 56-46 on Wednesday night.
In a college basketball season already marked by several upsets, the Wildcats (10-0) got their toughest challenge yet from the Ivy League Lions. Columbia led for nearly 27 minutes before Aaron Harrison and the Wildcats took control.
Set to face North Carolina, UCLA and Louisville in their next three games, the Wildcats had trouble from the outset against Columbia (5-3). Coach John Calipari was forced to call a timeout as the Lions took an 11-0 lead.
The Wildcats clamped down on defense to make several stops in the second half and took the lead for good at 36-34 on Derek Willis' two free throws with 13:18 remaining.
Harrison scored 14 points and Willie Cauley-Stein added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Kentucky. Injured freshman guards Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker didn't play.
Maodo Lo scored a game-high 16 points for Columbia.
Kentucky used its size and strength to rally, and avoided adding its name to the list of recent surprises.
A month into the new season, Michigan lost to New Jersey Institute of Technology, defending NCAA champion Connecticut fell to Yale, Indiana was edged by Eastern Washington, Purdue lost to North Florida and Drexel was beaten by Philadelphia University of The Sciences.
Kentucky's sluggish performance for much of the game was a far cry from Sunday's drubbing of Eastern Kentucky, a game that showed no letdown after last week's big victory over Texas.
Even after the Wildcats finally went ahead, the Lions were just a few possessions away from getting back in the game.
But while Columbia's hopes looked strong in the first half, its lead slowly slipped away behind 38 percent shooting.
But the gritty Lions certainly succeeded in making Kentucky work all night, especially in a first half that created angst among the 22,112 fans, if not the Wildcats. Columbia jumped out to a 14-3 lead and led 25-23 at halftime through good ball movement, quickness and especially 3-point shooting with Lo leading the way.
The Lions followed a 4-of-6 start from behind the arc by missing six of their final seven in the half, but that was far better than the Wildcats' 1-for-7 showing as they were outshot 38 percent to 33 percent. Most importantly, Columbia had the tempo it wanted.
NO. 5 WISCONSIN 93, WIS.-MILWAUKEE 54
MILWAUKEE — Frank Kaminsky scored 18 points and Sam Dekker added 17 as fifth-ranked Wisconsin (9-1) continued its dominance over in-state rival Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an easy victory. Matt Tiby with 17 points was the only player with 10 or more points for the Panthers.
NO. 10 KANSAS 75,
GEORGETOWN 70
WASHINGTON -- Brannen Greene went 5 for 5 from three-point range and scored a career-high 19 points Wednesday night as No. 10 Kansas took down Georgetown.
Greene scored 16 in the second half, including two free throws that helped clinch the game in the final minute. Frank Mason added 14 points, and Perry Ellis had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks (7-1), who have won six in a row.
Joshua Smith scored 20 points to lead the Hoyas (5-3), whose other losses came against No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 15 Butler.
No. 12 OHIO STATE 97,
HIGH POINT 43
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Kam Williams scored a career-high 23 points, including 13 in a row for Ohio State in the first half, to lead the 12th-ranked Buckeyes to a victory over High Point.
D'Angelo Russell had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for the Buckeyes (7-1), who hit 35 of 56 shots from the field for 63 percent. Jae'Sean Tate scored 12, Shannon Scott added 11 points and seven assists, and Sam Thompson scored 10.
John Brown, averaging 19.6 points coming in, had 19 to lead High Point (6-3), from the Big South Conference.
Williams was the difference in the opening half for the Buckeyes, who led 43-24.
NO. 13 UTAH 65, BYU 61
PROVO, UTAH — Delon Wright had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 13 Utah beat BYU. Wright scored nine points in the second half and sparked a 10-0 run that helped the Utes (7-1) overcome a 31-30 halftime deficit. Wright also had two steals and was 6 of 7 on free throws. Kenneth Ogbe added nine points and freshman forward Brekkott Chapman had eight first-half points. Tyler Haws led BYU (7-3) with 23 points, and Kyle Collinsworth added 17. Utah was 19 of 30 from the line, while BYU made 6 of 10 free throws.
No. 19 MARYLAND 67,
NC CENTRAL 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Richaud Pack scored 17 points, Jake Layman added 15 and No. 19 Maryland took control in the first half before coasting past North Carolina Central.
The Terrapins (9-1) led 14-12 before using a 21-2 run to go up by 21. Maryland connected on five three-pointers during the surge, including two apiece by Layman and freshman Jared Nickens.
It was the second victory in a row for the Terrapins following their lone defeat, at home against Top 10 foe Virginia a week ago.
Jordan Parks had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles, whose five-game winning streak ended. NCCU (6-4) made only two field goals in the final 11 minutes of the first half and trailed 39-18 at the break.
It was 54-39 with just under nine minutes left before Layman drilled a three-pointer from the right corner to erase any doubt.
NCCU shot 38 percent from the floor and went 5 for 21 from beyond the arc.
The Eagles led 7-6 and were tied at 10 with eight minutes elapsed. Soon after that, Maryland took control.
After 7-foot-1 center Michal Cekovsky scored on a drive, three-pointers by Pack and Layman gave the Terrapins a double-digit lead. Nickens then buried consecutive three-pointers to make it 28-12, and after Dante Holmes made a layup for NCCU, Layman knocked down a three-pointer to spark a 7-0 spurt.
The Eagles went 7 for 25 from the field in the first half and were outrebounded 18-9.
NO. 23 NORTHERN IOWA 65, DENVER 55
DENVER — Seth Tuttle finished with 12 points and Deon Mitchell scored nine of his 11 in a first half where No. 23 Northern Iowa missed just two shots from the floor, helping the Panthers cruise past Denver and move to 9-0 for the third time in school history.
Northern Iowa hit 15 of 17 attempts (88.2 percent) in the opening half to build a lead that stretched to as many as 22 points. That cushion was enough as the Panthers held off a Pioneers squad that usually plays them tough, with all three of the previous meetings decided by six points or less.
Cam Griffin and Nate Engesser both finished with 15 points to lead Denver, which fell to 13-49 all-time against ranked opponents. The Pioneers (4-4) haven’t beaten a team in the Top 25 since knocking off Utah State in 1971.
NO. 24 ST. JOHN’S 74,
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 52
NEW YORK — D’Angelo Harrison scored 26 points, Phil Greene IV had 16 and No. 24 St. John’s beat Fairleigh Dickinson.
Sir’Dominic Pointer added 12 points and Chris Obekpa had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Red Storm (7-1) in their first game as a ranked team since 2011. St. John’s returned to the Top 25 this week after a 12-point victory at Syracuse last Saturday.
Obekpa also had six of the Red Storm’s 11 blocked six shots. Harrison grabbed six rebounds and made all eight of his free throws.
Playing on campus at Carnesecca Arena, St. John’s opened a 39-25 halftime lead and outrebounded FDU 35-24.
Mustafaa Jones had 18 points for the Knights (3-5). Xavier Harris added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Sports on 12/11/2014