Thursday's Shootaround: Lance Stephenson proves he's ready for the Big East, N'Western and UAB lose

Cincinnati 71, UConn 69: Cincinnati was in the lead for most of this game, twice taking double digit leads. But Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson wouldn't quit, both times leading the Huskies back. With just under eight minutes to play, Cinci took a 12 point lead, but the Huskies slowly chipped away, eventually cutting it to one on a Stanley Robinson lay-up with 29 seconds left. But UConn didn't foul on the ensuing possession, giving up a dunk to Ibrahima Thomas instead. The Huskies got the ball out quickly, as Dyson sprinted the other direction. He got into the paint and found a wide-open Kemba Walker, who buried a three to tie the game.

After the three, Lance Stephenson took the ball and went the other direction. He drove past Dyson and into Gavin Edwards and Alex Oriakhi. Referee John Cahill blew his whistle, giving Lance Stephenson two free throws to win the game with just 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Take a look. Was it a foul?



Jerome Dyson was clearly the best player on the floor, as he routinely knifed his way through traffic, finishing tough lay-ups in the lane. He had 24 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists, while Robinson added 22 points, 7 boards, and 3 steals. Stephenson led Cinci with 21 in his first Big East game, and I think he more than proved himself capable of handling the pressure. Deonta Vaughn, who has been struggling this season, got into a bit of a rhythm, scoring eight early points as Cinci pulled ahead, and finishing with 17.

Virginia 72, UAB 63: UAB was one of the hottest teams in the country coming into Charlottesville, and looked to be on their way to beating another power conference team as they took a 50-43 lead midway through the second half. But the Cavs responded with a 16-3 run and made the plays down the stretch to win. Sylvan Landesberg had 19 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists and was charged with being the playmaker down the stretch for UVA. Elijah Millsaps had a career high 27 points and 11 boards, but the Blazers missed 10 of their last 15 free throws. Tough to win doing that.

Illinois 89, Northwestern 83 OT: Northwestern started this game on fire, hitting their first four threes and 11-23 overall in the first half. But the Illini's defense tightened up in the second half, and they began to pick apart the Wildcat's 1-3-1 zone. In the first 16:27 of the second half, Illinois outscored Northwestern 35-20, taking a 69-63 lead with 3:33 remaining. The Wildcats would fight back, as John Shurna capped a 9-3 run with a lay-up with 45 seconds left. After two Mike Tisdales free throws, Luka Mirkovic forced overtime as he tipped in his second attempt with 17 seconds on the clock.

But in the extra frame, Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis, who went for a combined 51 points and 28 boards, scored all eight points in an 8-2 spurt, and the Illini never looked back.

William & Mary 83, Maryland 77: The Tribe may end up having more ACC road wins that the Terps when the season done. After beating Wake Forest in Winston-Salem earlier this year, W&M went into College Park and knocked off Maryland despite 26 points and 6 assists from Greivis Vasquez. Quinn McDowell had 28, Danny Sumner had 17, and the Tribe spread the floor against the Terps, opening up driving lanes and open threes.

Vanderbilt 86, Manhattan 48: The Commodores blew out Manhattan in a game that was never really in doubt. Why should you care? Because Kevin Laue, the 6'11" Jasper center who has just one arm, scored his first career point with three minutes left on a free throw. He also grabbed eight boads in 17 minutes.

Baylor 70, Arkansas 47: After Kansas and Texas, the rest of the Big XII is fairly open, and Baylor looks like they may be staking claim to that third spot. LaceDarius Dunn scored 19 points and Ekpe Udoh added 8 points, 15 boards, and 8 blocks as the Bears pulled away in the second half.

Boston College 85, South Carolina 76: BC opened up a 48-27 lead at halftime as the Gamecocks were unable to slow down the Eagles at the offensive end. But in the second half, Darrin Horn turned up the defensive pressure, and South Carolina used a 26-8 run to get that lead down to 56-53. USC would never go away, but without Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie, they clearly ran out of gas as BC was able to gain some separation late. Devan Downey had 29 points and 7 assists for the Gamecocks, but he did it on 28 shots, many of which were tough, quick three pointers or ill-advised forays into the lane. He did spark the comeback, but a comeback may not have been needed if he didn't start the game 5-17. Rakim Sanders had 22 to lead BC.

Other notable games:

• UNC 87, Albany 70: This game was not as close as the final score indicates, thanks to a 25-2 run from the Great Danes to close it out. Ed Davis had 18 points and 8 boards.
  
• Michigan State 87, UT-Arlington 68: The Spartans got 16 points from Kalin Lucas, who didn't come off the bench until the 10 minutes mark, and Durrell Summers and Draymond Green added 20 and 19, respectively.
  
• Temple 70, Northern Illinois 60: The Owls didn't play their best, but avoided dropping an obvious trap game as they get Kansas at home next. Ryan Brooks led the way with 19 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists while Juan Fernandez scored 26.
  
• Virginia Tech 85, Longwood 50: The only news here: Malcolm Delaney sprained his ankle just over a minute into the game.
• Western Carolina 87, UNC-Asheville 76: Jake Robinson scored 25 points and hit six threes as the Catamounts won.
• Harvard 66, George Washington 53: Jeremy Lin scord 17 points and added 8 boards, 7 steals, and 5 assists to lead Harvard.
• Old Dominion 63, Duquesne 54: Gerald Lee had 24 points, 6 boards, and 3 blocks as the Monarchs broke open a tight games with a 7-2 spurt to put them up double digits early in the second half. Duquesne was never really close the rest of the way.
• Louisville 73, South Florida 52: Louisville used a 15-0 run early in the second half to put this one away. Edgar Sosa had 16 to lead Louisville, but don't count out the Bulls just yet. Gus Gilchrist didn't play and Dominique Jones was in foul trouble the whole game, picking up his fifth with 13 minutes left.
• Florida 79, Presbyterian 38: Chandler Parsons scored 21 points to lead the Gators to a much needed win.
• St. Mary's 94, Howard 46: Omar Samhan was one block away from a triple-double, posting 23 points, 11 boards, and a school-record 9 blocks.
• Notre Dame 93, Providence 78: Tim Abromaitis and Jonathon Peoples combined for 45 points and 10 threes as the Irish jumped all over the Friars early. A 13-1 run cut it to 54-45 to start the second half, but the Irish responded and PC never got it to single digits again.
• Alabama 77, Tennessee State 65: JaMychal Green had 19 points and 8 boards, but the Crimson Tide didn't pull away until a 12-3 run with just over three minutes left put them up double digits.
• Missouri 91, UMKC 57: Missouri missed their first nine shots and didn't score for five minutes, but after a line change the Tigers went on a 14-0 run and never looked back.
• Miami 73, Bethune-Cookman 52: A 13-2 spurt midway through the first half gave the Canes a 33-21 lead.
  

Wednesday's Best:

• Artsiom Parakhouski scored 34 points and added 12 boards as Radford smacked George Mason.
• Mike Tisdale scord a career-high 31 points and added 11 boards, which included a number of big plays at the end of regulation and in overtime, as the Illini picked up a much-needed win against Northwestern. Mike Davis added 20 points and 17 boards.
• Omar Samhan is a name you need to remember. He had 23 points, 11 boards, and 9 blocks last night.
• Buffalo's Rodney Pierce scored 31 points in a win over Liberty.
• Otis Polk went for 17 points and 16 boards and had the game-clinching steal as Bowling Green knocked off Towson.
• Our first Marqus Blakely sighting here at BIAH. He went for 26 points, 11 boards, 4 assists, 5 steals, and 4 blocks in a win at Mt. St. Mary's.
• Ty Patterson led Chattanooga with 22 points and 11 boards in a win over Eastern Kentucky.