Nov. 14, 2012

The Atlantic 10 picked up big wins in the ESPN College Hoops Marathon, including starting the day with a game-winning three in Amherst. The day also included an intriguing non-conference matchup with Butler and Xavier and a Temple win.

UMass 67, Harvard 64

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - Sampson Carter hit a 3-point shot in the final seconds to lift Massachusetts past Harvard 67-64 Tuesday in the Tip-Off Marathon.

Carter made his only shot of the game near the baseline to complete an 8-0 run by UMass.

Jesse Morgan, who led UMass with 19 points, made a 3-pointer to tie it 64-64 with 38 seconds left. After a turnover by Harvard, Chaz Williams drove to the basket and passed to Carter in the corner for the game-winner.

Wesley Saunders led Harvard with 18 points and Siyani Chambers had 14 points and seven assists.

UMass led 38-37 at the half and outrebounded Harvard 40-35.

Harvard went 22 of 26 from the free-throw line compared to 10 of 14 for the Minutemen.


Xavier 62, Butler 47

CINCINNATI (AP) - Jeff Robinson scored 17 points, and Travis Taylor added 15 points and nine rebounds to help Xavier beat cold-shooting Butler 62-47 on Tuesday.

Justin Martin added 10 points for Xavier (2-0), and Dee Davis led a defensive effort that limited Butler (1-1) to 36.5 shooting percentage (19 of 52), including 25 percent (7 of 28) in the second half.

Davis scored nine points while helping hold Butler guard Rotnei Clarke to seven points after he scored 21 in Butler's season-opening 74-59 victory over Elon on Saturday.

Xavier shot 50 percent (23 of 46), never trailed and led by 20 points late in the game.

Freshman Kellen Dunham led Butler with 11 points. Andrew Smith added nine points, all in 15 minutes of the first half after going scoreless in Butler's opener.

Playing before a crowd of 9,876 that showed up at the 10,250-seat Cintas Center for the rare late-afternoon weekday game, Xavier improved its overall record against Butler to 31-16. The Musketeers have won 10 of the last 12 games against the Bulldogs, including the last three.

Even though both teams are in the Atlantic 10, the game was not a conference matchup, because it was scheduled before Butler joined the A-10 this season. The teams are scheduled to meet in their regular-season finale March 9 in what will count as a conference game.

Robinson, who scored 16 points in Xavier's 117-75 season-opening victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, had 12 points in the first half as the Musketeers built a 32-18 lead before settling for a 36-29 halftime advantage. The Bulldogs made just one of their first 10 shots in the second half, allowing the Musketeers to open a 46-33 lead.


Temple 80, Kent St. 66

KENT, Ohio (AP) - Scootie Randall scored a career-high 31 points to lead Temple to an 80-66 win over Kent State on Tuesday in the Tip-Off Marathon.

Randall, who sat out last season with a left knee injury, finished 10-for-19 from the field, including five 3-pointers. His free throws gave Temple a 73-56 lead after a technical on the Kent State bench with 5:41 left.

Anthony Lee added 16 points for Temple (1-0), which shot 52 percent from the field.

Kris Brewer had 19 points and Chris Evans added 17 points for Kent State (1-1).

Temple led 40-32 at halftime.


Charlotte 66, Georgia Southern 53

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Chris Braswell came back from a one-game suspension to score 21 points and grab 12 rebounds as Charlotte defeated Georgia Southern 66-53 Tuesday night.

The 49ers (2-0), who led by three after a back-and-forth first half, held the Eagles scoreless for the first 5:46 of the second half, and built a 50-36 lead with 11:57 remaining.

Charlotte dominated Georgia Southern on the boards 40-19, including 21-8 in the second half.

Braswell, who had 16 points in the first half, and teammate DeMario Mayfield both missed the season opener for violating team rules, but Mayfield's suspension was for two games.

Pierria Henry added 13 points for the 49ers while JT Thompson, a transfer from Virginia Tech who missed the opener because of an injury, played 15 minutes and chipped in four points.

Eric Ferguson and Cleon Roberts led the Eagles (0-2) with 11 points each, and Ferguson also had 10 rebounds.


Richmond 101, N.C.-Wilmington 58

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Darien Brothers led Richmond in scoring for the second straight game as the Spiders manhandled UNC Wilmington 101-58 Tuesday night in a nonconference game.

Brothers netted 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, in just 20 minutes of action.

Four Spiders finished in double figures, including Brothers, Kendall Anthony (17 points), Derrick Williams (15) and Wayne Sparrow (13). Anthony was 5 of 5 on 3-point attempts.

The Spiders opened the game up early in the first half, using a 13-0 run to build a 22-10 lead that never shrunk smaller than seven points.

Richmond is 2-0 for the third straight season.

Keith Rendleman led the Seahawks (1-1) with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

UNC Wilmington shot 32.1 percent (18 of 56) to Richmond's 58.2 percent (32 of 55), and the Spiders led 21-4 in fast-break points.


Wichita St. 53, VCU 51

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Malcolm Armstead hit an 18-foot jumper from the top off the key with 3.8 seconds to play Tuesday night, lifting Wichita State to a 53-51 victory over Virginia Commonwealth.

Cleanthony Early added 13 points and Carl Hall 12 for the Shockers (2-0), who beat VCU for the first time in three tries. The Rams (1-1) knocked them out in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, and beat them on last-second free throws two years ago during the regular season.

Juvonte Reddic scored 22 points to lead the Rams (1-1). He had two free throw attempts with five-tenths of a second left that would have tied it, but the first spun out. He missed the second intentionally but was called for a lane violation.

Darius Theus added 15 for the Rams, including a 3-pointer that tied it at 51 with 26.6 seconds to play.


Robert Morris 74, Fordham 58

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Velton Jones led four players in double figures with 18 points and Robert Morris knocked down 26 free throws en route to a 74-58 win over Fordham on Tuesday night.

Karvel Anderson had 16, Lucky Jones tallied 15 and nine rebounds, and Coron Williams added 13 points for the Colonials.

Robert Morris (1-2) led 37-31 at halftime before Fordham closed the gap to 44-42 behind a three-point play from Branden Frazier. The Colonials, however, converted 19 of 24 free throws over the final 13:35 to keep Fordham at bay.

Fordham (0-3) held Robert Morris to just 37.7 percent (20 of 53) from the field but the Colonials won the rebounding battle 44-31 and scored 22 points off 12 Rams' turnovers.

Frazier led Fordham with 21 points and seven assists and Bryan Smith chipped in 12, but the Rams shot just 55 percent (11 of 20) from the free-throw line.