In brief: No. 5 Xavier knocks off No. 1 Villanova

College Basketball: J.P. Macura got Xavier rolling with 19 points off the bench, Edmond Sumner had 19 points and nine assists and fifth-ranked Xavier got the win that had eluded it, knocking off top-ranked Villanova 90-83 on Wednesday night in Cincinnati.

The Musketeers (25-3, 13-3) led most of the way in the first matchup of Top 5 teams since the Big East was reconfigured.

Villanova (24-4, 13-2) couldn’t overcome foul trouble or Xavier’s balance, losing for only the second time in their last 18 games.

Kris Jenkins scored 22 for Villanova but fouled out with 8:47 left.

No. 7 UNC beats rival NC State: Brice Johnson had 22 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 7 North Carolina beat North Carolina State 80-68 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Justin Jackson added 17 points for the Tar Heels (23-5, 12-3 ACC). UNC entered this game alone in first place in the ACC, just ahead of No. 12 Miami.

League-leading scorer Anthony “Cat” Barber scored 32 points for the Wolfpack (14-14, 4-11).

No. 11 Louisville pulls away from Pittsburgh: Quentin Snider scored 14 points, Damion Lee added 13 and No. 11 Louisville pulled away from host Pittsburgh in the final minutes of a 67-60 victory.

The Cardinals (22-6, 11-4 ACC) made their last nine field goals, with former walk-on David Levitch hitting a 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining that put Louisville up for good.

Ryan Luther finished with a career-high 17 points for Pitt (19-8, 8-7).

Hamilton gets extension at FSU: Florida State and Leonard Hamilton agreed on a two-year extension, giving him a chance to mesh the young talent on this year’s Seminoles squad with a highly rated recruiting class expected to be on campus next season.

Hamilton is in his 14th season at the school and has a 252-184 record. The new contract will run until the end of the 2018-19 season.

James, Irving lead Cavs past Hornets

NBA: LeBron James and Kyrie Irving scored 23 points each and Cleveland beat visiting Charlotte 114-103.

The Cavaliers bounced back from a home loss Monday to Detroit in which James tied a season low with 12 points.

Kemba Walker scored 20 points for Charlotte, which had won four straight on the road and five straight overall.

George scores 27, Pacers edge Knicks: Paul George scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half to lead Indiana to a 108-105 victory over New York in Indianapolis.

Kristaps Porzingis missed a 3-point shot that would’ve given the Knicks the lead with 1.9 seconds remaining.

George, who shot 1 of 9 in the first half, had 10 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth. Porzingis led New York with 22 points.

Curry comes through late, Warriors top Heat: Stephen Curry scored 42 points and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 38 seconds left, Klay Thompson scored 17 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and visiting Golden State beat Miami 118-112.

Harrison Barnes scored 11 and Draymond Green had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who trailed by 12 in the early going and improved to 51-5 on the season.

Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 32 points for Miami.

Heat’s Udrih out up to 3 months: Beno Udrih has a tear in the bottom of his right foot, and Miami’s backup point guard is looking at a three-month rehabilitation after surgery is performed to correct the issue.

He got hurt in Monday’s overtime win over Indiana. An X-ray performed that night ruled out a fracture, but an MRI on Tuesday showed the tear and the need for surgery.

Pelicans owner Benson ruled competent: A Louisiana appeals court has upheld a civil judge’s ruling that Pelicans and Saints owner Tom Benson was mentally competent when he ousted relatives from ownership positions with his NFL and NBA clubs and appointed his third wife as his primary successor.

The state 4th Circuit Court of Appeal found no fault with Orleans Parish Judge Kern Reese’s decision to block the attorney for Benson’s estranged daughter and her children from cross-examining their 88-year-old patriarch during the closed trial last June.

Canadiens chase Holtby, top Capitals

NHL: Alex Galchenyuk scored two goals, Mike Condon made 33 saves and visiting Montreal topped Eastern Conference- leading Washington 4-3.

The Canadiens built a 3-0 lead and chased Capitals goalie Braden Holtby in the second period before holding on as Washington tallied twice late.

Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Fleischmann added goals for the Canadiens.

Richards possession case stayed: Caps forward Mike Richards will not be prosecuted on a charge of possession of a controlled substance in Manitoba.

Richards was arrested June 17 at the Canadian border between North Dakota and Manitoba and was found to be in possession of a controlled substance.

Richards was “gratified” that prosecution was not warranted and that he “is now entirely focused on his hockey career.”

Pastrnak scores twice, Bruins blow by Penguins: David Pastrnak had two goals, including one on a penalty shot, and Boston blew past visiting Pittsburgh 5-1.

Boston outscored Pittsburgh 14-3 while sweeping the three-game season series.

Tuukka Rask made 41 saves for the Bruins. Jimmy Hayes, Landon Ferraro and Brad Marchand also scored.

Belfour auctions gold medal: Ed Belfour’s decision to trade his Olympic gold medal to go into the distilling business with his son has paid off.

The medal the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie won representing Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games was auctioned off for $41,200 according Classic Auctions, which handled the sale.

Belfour said he was selling part of his collection to join son, Dayn, and establish Belfour Distilleries. The business is to be based in Texas and focus on distilling bourbons and whiskeys.

ESPN suit for records goes to appeal

Miscellany: Notre Dame wrongly denied ESPN’s request for campus police records that should be subject to the same public scrutiny as other police departments, despite the school being a private institution, the sports network told an Indiana court of appeals in Indianapolis.

Since September 2014, the Bristol, Connecticut-based company has sought records about possible campus crimes that may involve student-athletes at the private school in northern Indiana, but to no avail.

Two state officials, including the attorney general, said Notre Dame should follow Indiana’s public records laws. But the school said lawmakers never intended for private colleges to be subject to that law.