Louisville, Ky. — Scoreless in two previous rivalry games, the point guard Louisville calls “Q’’ regrouped to be the Cardinals’ X-factor against Kentucky.
Quentin Snider scored a career-high 22 points, including a key drive with 1:44 remaining, and Jaylen Johnson and Donovan Mitchell combined for four points in the final 16 seconds to help No. 10 Louisville hold off No. 6 Kentucky 73-70 on Wednesday night in the 50th battle for Bluegrass bragging rights.
After managing just two rebounds in 28 minutes last year in Lexington, Snider rebounded with 10-of-19 shooting, including two 3-pointers, to help the Cardinals earn a signature win against their in-state rival. The Louisville native’s final basket was beautiful, a fake followed by a drive for a 69-63 lead that proved critical in withstanding Kentucky’s furious final rally.
“This was pretty big,” Snider said. “Last year’s performance kind of carried into my mind the whole season, so I was waiting for this game. This was kind of a revenge game.”
Fortunately for Louisville, Snider got help down the stretch with Johnson’s layup with 16 seconds left and Mitchell’s two free throws 8 seconds later for a three-point edge that helped end a four-game losing streak in the series.
Malik Monk — whose NBA-range 3-pointer with 12 seconds left capped a 7-2 run that got Kentucky within 71-70 before he fouled Mitchell in the backcourt — bounced another 3-point attempt to tie off the front of the rim with 3 seconds left. Deng Adel (career-high 18 points) grabbed the rebound to seal the win for Louisville (11-1) and spark a loud celebration among teammates and a predominantly red-clad crowd.
The tense ending was fitting in a thriller that featured 10 ties and nine lead changes between foes located about 80 miles apart.
“Our guys did a great job not only defensively but of attacking the rim,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said.
De’Aaron Fox led Kentucky (10-2) with 21 points while Monk had 16 a game after scoring a freshman-record 47 against North Carolina. Monk followed up his 18-of-28 performance by shooting 6 of 17 from the field and 1 of 9 from long range.
More Top 25
(At) No. 1 Villanova 90, American 48: Josh Hart scored 20 points to lead Villanova to its 18th straight win. The Wildcats (12-0) shook off a sluggish first half and crushed the Eagles over the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats made 9 of 10 shots during a 21-2 run and scored on 15 of their first 20 possessions in the second half to blow this one open. Hart again was sensational in Villanova’s final tuneup before beginning Big East play next week. He made two 3-pointers and 7 of 14 shots overall. Delante Jones led the Eagles (3-8) with 12 points.
(At) No. 4 Baylor 89, Texas Southern 63: Johnathan Motley had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Baylor finished its perfect run through nonconference play. The Bears (12-0) shot 59 percent from the field, including 8 for 14 from 3-point range. Kevin Scott was 7 for 8 from the field for 15 points to lead the Tigers (4-9), who have dropped eight straight.
No. 5 Duke 72, Elon 61: At Greensboro, North Carolina, Luke Kennard scored 21 points while Duke star Grayson Allen received a technical foul for his third tripping incident in a year. Duke (12-1) trailed 35-34 at halftime before rallying for its 10th straight win in its final game before starting Atlantic Coast Conference play. Allen was whistled with 4:15 left in the first half after getting tangled with a driving Steven Santa Ana, sending Santa Ana to the floor. Officials reviewed replays that showed Allen kicking his right leg up and catching the back of Santa Ana’s left knee. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski pulled Allen for the rest of the half. Allen finished with three points on 1-of-8 shooting. Brian Dawkins scored 18 points for the Phoenix (7-5).
(At) No. 7 Gonzaga 102, South Dakota 65: Zach Collins scored 21 points. Collins made all nine of his field goal attempts for Gonzaga (12-0), which has won its first 12 games for the first time in a century of basketball. Nigel Williams-Goss added 14 points and nine rebounds for Gonzaga, which shot 53 percent. Matt Mooney and Tyler Flack scored 13 points each for South Dakota (9-6), which couldn’t overcome 36-percent shooting.
(At) No. 8 North Carolina 85, Northern Iowa 42: Kennedy Meeks scored 10 of his 18 points during North Carolina’s dominant second half. Justin Jackson added 12 points while Joel Berry II and Isaiah Hicks finished with 11 each for the Tar Heels (11-2). They shot 52 percent — hit 62 percent of their shots in the second half while outscoring Northern Iowa 52-16 — and established a 42-24 rebounding advantage to bounce back from a 103-100 loss to Kentucky last weekend. Bennett Koch scored 10 points before fouling out with 7:19 left for the Panthers (5-6), who have lost two straight and six of eight.
No. 12 Virginia 56, (at) California 52: Isaiah Wilkins scored a tiebreaking three-point play with 1:02 remaining, Mamadi Diakite added a key basket in the final minute and Virginia (10-1) snapped the Golden Bears’ school-record 27-game home winning streak. Kyle Guy scored 17 points, including seven straight during a big second-half run and two free throws with 15.9 seconds to play, and London Perrantes added 14 points.
(At) No. 13 Butler 81, Vermont 69: Andrew Chrabascz scored a season-high 28 points and Butler shot 69.6 percent from the field in the second half. The Bulldogs (11-1) have won three straight and extended their home winning streak against non-conference foes to 36. Drew Urquhart and Trae Bell-Haynes each scored 14 points to lead the Catamounts (8-5), who took advantage of Butler’s sluggish start to keep the score close most of the first half.
Clemson 62, (at) No. 22 South Carolina 60: Jaron Blossomgame had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Clemson. Avry Holmes made three of four free throws in the final 20.3 seconds to give Clemson (9-2) its first road win ever over a ranked nonconference team. PJ Dozier had a career-high 26 points for the Gamecocks (9-2), but missed a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
State men
(At) No. 2 UCLA 82, Western Michigan 68: Bryce Alford scored 22, Aaron Holiday had 16 and TJ Leaf added 14, as UCLA held off Western Michigan to complete a perfect preseason. Western Michigan (3-8) was led by guard Thomas Wilder’s 22 points, with forward Tucker Haymond adding 16 points and Reggie Jones 12.
The Broncos hung tough with UCLA for much of the game, but the Bruins’ balanced attack finally wore down Western Michigan.
After being down by 12 at halftime, the Broncos scored the first eight points of the second half to pull within 45-41. The Bruins, however, answered with a 16-4 run to seal the win.
Central Michigan 106, Montana State 103: Central Michigan (9-3) outscored Montana State 65-64 in the second half. Marcus Keene scored 44, and Braylon Rayson and Cecil Williams 16 each for Central. Taylor Hall scored 29 for Montana State (5-8).
State women
(At) Central Michigan 65, Air Force 44: Phillis Webb scored 20 and Sasha Dailey 19 for EMU (5-7). Air Force is 2-8.
Western Michigan 64, (at) Chicago State 51: Marley Hill scored 19 and Breanna Mobley 13 for Western Michigan (9-2). Chicago State is 0-12.
(At) Toledo 72, Detroit Mercy 66: Mariella Santucci scored 15 for Toledo (9-2). Brianne Cohen scored 17 for Detroit Mercy (4-7).
Big Ten
(At) No. 15 Purdue 91, Norfolk St. 45: Caleb Swanigan had a career-best 32 points and 20 rebounds — his fourth consecutive double-double — to lead Purdue to its sixth straight victory. Swanigan, who is averaging 23 points and 15.3 rebounds during the past four games, had 20 points and 14 rebounds in 17 first-half minutes, when the Boilermakers (11-2) built a commanding 53-25 lead over the Spartans (3-10).
(At) Penn State 96, Morgan State 55: Lamar Stevens scored 20 points, Tony Carr and Payton Banks added 11 each and Mike Watkins, Shep Garner and Julian Moore scored 10 each for Penn State (8-5), which has won two straight. Phillip Carr led Morgan State (3-8) with 19 points and Kyle Thomas added 14.
Illinois 75, Missouri 66: Malcolm Hill scored 21 points and Maverick Morgan had a double-double. Morgan hit 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 12. The Illini (10-3) have won six in a row including the last four in the border series. Kevin Puryear led Missouri (5-6) with 17 points. Terrence Phillips had 14 points and Jordan Geist added 12.