LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Quentin Snider scored a career-high 22 points, including two on 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 beat 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 to help the Cardinals earn a signature victory against their in-state rival. But he needed help down the stretch with Johnson's layup with 16 seconds left and Mitchell's two free throws with eight seconds left for a three-point edge that helped end a four-game losing streak in the series.
Malik Monk's three-point attempt to tie for Kentucky bounced off the front of the rim with three seconds left, and Deng Adel grabbed the rebound to seal the victory for Louisville (11-1).
The tense ending was fitting in a thriller that featured 10 ties and nine lead changes between foes located about 80 miles apart.
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.
In other games involving Top 25/SEC men Wednesday, Josh Hart scored 20 points to lead No. 1 Villanova (12-0) to its 18th consecutive victory, 90-48, over American (3-8). ... Johnathan Motley had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead five double-digit scorers, and No. 4 Baylor (12-0) finished its perfect run through nonconference play with a 89-63 victory over Texas Southern (4-9). ... Luke Kennard scored 21 points while Grayson Allen, star of No. 5 Duke (12-1), received a technical foul for his third tripping incident in a year during the fifth-ranked Blue Devils' 72-61 victory over Elon (7-5). ... Zach Collins scored 21 points as undefeated and No. 7 Gonzaga (12-0) beat South Dakota (9-6) 102-65. ... Kennedy Meeks scored 10 of his 18 points during No. 8 North Carolina's dominant second half, leading the Tar Heels (11-2) past Northern Iowa (5-6) 85-42. ... Isaiah Wilkins scored a tiebreaking three-point play with 1:02 remaining, Mamadi Diakite added a key basket in the final minute, and No. 12 Virginia (10-1) held off California 56-52 to snap the Golden Bears' (9-3) school-record 27-game home winning streak. ... Andrew Chrabascz scored a season-high 28 points and No. 13 Butler (11-1) shot 69.6 percent from the field in the second half to pull away from Vermont (8-5) 81-69.. ... Caleb Swanigan had a career-best 32 points and 20 rebounds -- his fourth consecutive double-double -- and No. 15 Purdue (11-2) defeated Norfolk State (3-10) 91-45, the Boilermakers' sixth consecutive victory. ... Jaron Blossomgame had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Clemson (9-2) to a 62-60 victory over No. 22 South Carolina (9-2).
SEC MEN
Illinois tops Missouri
ST. LOUIS -- Malcolm Hill scored 21 points and Maverick Morgan had a double-double to lead Illinois (10-3) to a 75-66 victory over Missouri.
Morgan hit 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 12.
Kevin Puryear led Missouri (5-6) with 17 points. Terrence Phillips had 14 points and Jordan Geist added 12.
Illinois jumped out to a 15-5 lead and never trailed, holding off a pair of second-half rallies that saw Missouri pull within four points.
Michael Finke hit a three-pointer to push the lead to 67-59 after the Tigers made it 63-59 just 79 seconds earlier.
In other games involving SEC teams Wednesday, Charles Cooke had 19 points and Dayton shrugged off its second-lowest first-half total of the season to beat Vanderbilt 68-63. The Flyers (8-3) scored 21 points in the first half but more than doubled that in the first 11:37 of the second half. Matthew Fisher-Davis paced Vanderbilt (6-6) with a career-high 25 points behind 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range. ... D.J. Hogg scored 15 points and fellow sophomore Tyler Davis added 14 as Texas A&M defeated Saint Francis (Pa.) 81-58. The Aggies (8-3) led 46-19 at halftime and kept their overwhelmed opponent from Loretto, Pa., at bay the rest of the way in cruising to the 23-point victory. Keith Braxton and Josh Nebo scored 11 points each, the only Red Flash (3-8) players to reach double digits. ... Jared Harper and T.J. Dunans each scored 21 points and Auburn (9-2) beat Oklahoma (6-5) 74-70 in the Basketball Hall of Fame's Birth of Basketball showcase in Uncasville, Conn. Freshman Mustapha Heron added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Tigers.
Sports on 12/22/2016