Collins scores 31 as Gaels upset Nevada

Brett Collins scored 12 of his career-high 31 points during an 18-0 run that led Saint Mary’s to just its second win over a ranked opponent in more than 30 years, 89-80 over No. 20 Nevada Saturday in Moraga, Calif.

Daniel Kickert added 17 points for the Gaels (6-5), who have won five of six. Saint Mary’s only other win over a ranked opponent since 1974 came last season against Gonzaga.

Marcelus Kemp scored 22 points and Nick Fazekas added 21, but he didn’t score in the final 13:28 for Nevada (10-2), which had its 14-game road winning streak snapped. The Wolf Pack hadn’t lost on the road since Dec. 7, 2004, at Toledo. Mo Charlo chipped in 17 points for Nevada.

After Ramon Sessions’ basket in the lane gave the Wolf Pack a 57-50 lead with 12:53 to play, Nevada didn’t score again until Kemp’s jumper with 7:59 to go.

Todd Golden started the run for Saint Mary’s with a 3-pointer on an out-of-bounds play and Collins took over shortly after that. He hit a 3-pointer, a scoop shot for a three-point play, two free throws, a driving hoop and made a steal that led to a fastbreak layup that capped the spurt and gave Saint Mary’s a 68-57 lead.

Collins, who was 8 for 11 from the field and 12 for 13 from the free-throw line, had his previous high in December 2004, when he scored 18 against Sacramento State.

Kemp then tried his best to get the Wolf Pack back into the game. Blake Sholberg answered Kemp’s basket that stopped the run, giving the Gaels a 70-59 lead. Kemp then scored the next eight points of the game to cut it to three with just less than 6 minutes left.

Diamon Simpson’s putback ended that run and Collins followed with two free throws to build it back up to a seven-point lead for the Gaels.

The Wolf Pack were hurt again by key misses at the foul line. Sessions missed two free throws early in Saint Mary’s big run and Demarshay Johnson missed a front end of a 1-and-1 with Nevada down only four with 3:28 to go.

They also got nothing from their best player down the stretch. After scoring 12 points in the first 6:32 of the second half, Fazekas didn’t score again.

Saint Mary’s made 7 of 17 3-pointers after going just 2 for 17 in a loss Wednesday against Saint Joseph’s.

(1) Duke 102, UNC Greensboro 69: At Greensboro, N.C., J.J. Redick scored 35 points – the third time in four games he’s had at least 30 – to lead the Blue Devils over the Spartans at the Greensboro Coliseum. Redick capped his day with eight points in a span of less than 2 minutes to push Duke (12-0) in front 89-65 with about 6 1/2 minutes left. Shelden Williams posted his third straight double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and he added a career-high six steals and a block. Ricky Hickman led the Spartans (7-6) with 23 points.

(3) Villanova 75, Temple 53: At Philadelphia, Allan Ray scored 20 points, Mike Nardi had 17 and Kyle Lowry 15 to help the Wildcats remain undefeated in a game at the Palestra. The Wildcats opened the season with nine straight wins for the first time since 1961-62 when they won their first 12. Mardy Collins led the Owls (6-4) with 19 points.

(9) Michigan State 78, Coppin State 54: At East Lansing, Mich., Maurice Ager scored 25 points, Shannon Brown had 21 and the Spartans beat the winless Eagles to set a school record for non-conference wins. Ager, the Big Ten”s leading scorer, was 4 for 8 from 3-point range and had four assists for the Spartans (12-2). Brown had three 3-pointers for Michigan State, which won its 11th straight game since the Maui Invitational semifinals and finished 8-0 for the month. Tywain McKee led Coppin State (0-11) with 17 points.

(10) Louisville 58, Miami 43: At Sunrise, Fla., Juan Palacios scored 19 points to lead the Cardinals in the Orange Bowl Classic. Taquan Dean had 13 points and David Padgett added 11 points and 13 rebounds for Louisville (11-1). Robert Hite scored 15 points for Miami (7-6), while Guillermo Diaz, the Hurricanes’ leading scorer, was held scoreless for the second time in his career. The junior was 0 of 10 from the field, including four 3-point attempts.

(13) Boston College 78, Rhode Island 56: At South Kingstown, R.I., Sean Marshall scored a season-high 21 points and Craig Smith added 20 for the Eagles. Smith scored seven of BC’s first nine points in the second half and Marshall scored its next 11, giving BC a 58-38 lead with 11:13 left. BC (10-2) won its fourth straight game since losing two in a row to the only ranked teams it has played, Michigan State and Maryland. Dawan Robinson had 19 points for Rhode Island (6-5), which lost for the fourth time in five games.

(14) Oklahoma 68, Alabama 56: At Norman, Okla., Kevin Bookout had 18 points and eight rebounds and Taj Gray had 13 points and seven rebounds as the Sooners (8-2) extended their home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 46 games, the longest in NCAA Division I. Chuck Davis and Ronald Steele each had 18 points for the Crinson Tide (6-5), who were outrebounded 40-18.

(16) Maryland 99, VMI 68: At College Park, Md., D.J. Strawberry scored 16 points and Chris McCray added 15 as the Terrapins coasted to their fifth straight victory. Nik Caner-Medley had 10 points and a team-high six assists for Maryland (10-2), which scored the game’s first 13 points and led 56-20 at halftime. Reggie Williams led VMI (5-6) with 19 points.

(17) Indiana 80, Ball State 56: At Muncie, Ind., Robert Vaden scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half, and D.J. White added 16 points and nine rebounds in his first start of the season as the Hoosiers routed the Cardinals. Indiana (8-2) won its fourth straight game and has beaten Ball State 15 consecutive times since last losing in 1937. Skip Mills had 16 points for Ball State (4-4).

(21) Ohio State 78, LSU 76: At Columbus, Ohio, Matt Sylvester, who hit the 3-pointer that dashed No. 1 Illinois’ unbeaten season last March, hit one with 5.5 seconds left to cap a furious Buckeyes comeback. Ohio State (10-0) trailed by 15 points with just more than 5 1/2 minutes left and was down by 10 with 2 1/2 minutes to go. Terence Dials led the Buckeyes with 24 points, and Sylvester and Ron Lewis each added 14. Glen Davis had 25 points for LSU (7-4), including a basket with 3:23 left that gave the Tigers a 76-66 lead.

Pittsburgh 73, (24) Wisconsin 64: At Pittsburgh, Carl Krauser scored 22 points and provided a steadying hand to a mostly freshman Pittsburgh lineup, and the Panthers (11-0) remained unbeaten by holding off the Badgers (10-2) in their first game this season against a ranked opponent. Alando Tucker, Wisconsin’s only returning starter, scored 25 points, but no other Badger had more than nine points. The Badgers shot 37.5 percent in the first half and 42.1 percent overall, including 3 of 15 from 3-point range. Pitt shot 55.1 percent and got 35 points from its bench to 16 for Wisconsin.