Ashtyn Abbott had 20 points and eight rebounds as St. Joseph’s edged Dean College 94-86 in a GNAC men’s basketball game at Standish on Thursday night.
The Monks (10-9, 6-5 GNAC) have won two straight and 3 of 4.
Griffin Foley had 16 points for St. Joseph’s. Wani Donato, Julian Llopiz and Teagan Hynes all contributed 10 points.
Malik Spearman led all scorers with 25 points for the Bulldogs (13-8, 8-6), adding 12 rebounds. Jayden Madise had 17 points and AJ Weston added 16.
UAB 86, (19) FLORIDA ATLANTIC 77: Eric Gaines scored 21 points and host UAB (16-7, 7-5 Conference USA) topped Florida Atlantic (21-2, 10-1), ending the nation-best 20-game winning streak.
The Owls hadn’t lost since falling 80-67 to Mississippi on Nov. 11 and made their debut in the AP Top 25 2 1/2 weeks ago.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
ST. JOSEPH’S 80, DEAN 5: The Monks (15-4, 10-1 GNAC) got out to a 24-2 lead in the first quarter and held the Bulldogs (0-18, 0-13) scoreless in the second as they cruised to victory in Standish.
Logan Brown and Hannah Talon led St. Joseph’s with 10 points each. Angelica Hurley and Elisabeth Stapelfeld both had nine and Maddie Lebel put up eight and five rebounds. Mackenzie Currie and Nina Howe had seven points apiece.
(1) SOUTH CAROLINA 87, KENTUCKY 69: Aliyah Boston had 14 points and 14 rebounds as host South Carolina (22-0, 10 SEC) won its 28th straight game by beating Kentucky (10-12, 2-8).
The Gamecocks head for an NCAA Tournament title game rematch at No. 5 UConn on Sunday.
(9) NOTRE DAME 72, BOSTON COLLEGE 59: Olivia Miles scored 22 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds, combining with Sonia Citron to score 14 straight points in the fourth quarter as visiting Notre Dame (18-2, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) pulled away from Boston College (14-11, 4-8).
Citron finished with 23 points to help the Irish bounce back from their first league loss of the season, a 69-65 defeat at North Carolina State on Sunday.
Maria Gakdeng scored 16 points, T’Yana Todd had 13 and Andrea Daly scored 10 with eight rebounds for BC.
(11) NORTH CAROLINA 73, VIRGINIA 62: Freshman Kayla McPherson came off the bench to score 14 points and North Carolina (17-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) cruised by visiting Virginia (14-9, 3-9), which has lost five straight.
(13) VIRGINIA TECH 78, SYRACUSE 64: Elizabeth Kitley had 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, Cayla King scored 19 points with five 3-pointers and host Virginia Tech (18-4, 8-4 ACC) beat Syracuse (14-9, 5-7).
(16) DUKE 53, PITTSBURGH 44: Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor each scored 13 points and host Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC), beat Pittsburgh (7-15, 0-11).
(18) MICHIGAN 74, ILLINOIS 57: Leigha Brown scored 27 points to propel Michigan (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten Conference) to a victory over Illinois (17-6, 7-5) at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Brown sank 10 of 13 shots from the floor and all seven of her free throws for the Wolverines. She added five assists and four rebounds. Maddie Nolan and Emily Kiser scored 10 points apiece. Kiser snagged six rebounds.
(23) FLORIDA STATE 72, WAKE FOREST 44: Ta’Niya Latson scored 19 points, Makayla Timpson added 16 points and host Florida State (20-5, 9-3 ACC) eased by Wake Forest (13-10, 4-8).
Florida State pulled away in the second quarter by outscoring Wake Forest 21-4.
FOOTBALL
ALABAMA: Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has spoken with Alabama Coach Nick Saban about filling a vacancy on the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff and was scheduled to be in Tuscaloosa on Thursday, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity because Saban and Alabama were not making details about their search for a replacement for offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien public. ESPN first reported the talks between Saban and Rees.
O’Brien spent the last two seasons directing the Crimson’s Tide offense and coaching quarterbacks. The former Houston Texans’ head coach left last month to join Patriots Coach Bill Belichick in New England as offensive coordinator. O’Brien was a New England assistant before becoming Penn State head coach in 2012.
Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, has been an assistant at his alma mater since 2017 and offensive coordinator since 2020. He also spent a year with the San Diego Chargers in 2016 before returning to South Bend, Indiana, as quarterbacks coach.
The 30-year-old Rees was wooed by Brian Kelly when he left Notre Dame for LSU and by Miami last year, but decided to stay and work for first-year Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman. Notre Dame finished 9-4 last season.
Notre Dame’s offense have been solid statistically under Rees, ranking 45th (last season), 43rd (2021) and 39th (2020) nationally in yards per play.
Alabama will be breaking in a new starting quarterback next season after Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young declared for the NFL draft.
TEXAS A&M: Star receiver Ainias Smith is returning to Texas A&M for another season.
Smith announced on Twitter that he’ll return for a fifth season after breaking his right leg in Texas A&M’s fourth game last season.
He had 15 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns last season before his injury. He has 127 receptions for 1,612 yards and 17 TDs in four seasons with the Aggies.
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