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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Donte DiVicenzo beats buzzer as No. 1 Villanova tops No. 12 Virginia

Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo, right, celebrates his winning shot with Mikal Bridges, center and Kris Jenkins, right, following the second half of an NCAA basketball game against the Virginia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
Associated Press

Donte DiVicenzo beat the buzzer on a tip-in to lead No. 1 Villanova to a 61-59 win over No. 12 Virginia on Sunday in Philadelphia.

The Wildcats (20-2) played their worst half of the season before they found their 3-point groove that fueled a second-half rally. They had the ball with 11.5 seconds left and the game tied. Josh Hart drove the lane and missed his layup. DiVincenzo zipped down the baseline and tipped the ball in with his outstretched right hand just as the horn sounded.

After a brief review, the basket stood and the Wildcats mobbed each other at center court. Virginia coach Tony Bennett watched stone faced, arms folded and in stunned disbelief.

Villanova was coming off a loss at Marquette and avoided its first-two game losing streak in four years.

Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 15 points for the Wildcats. Ty Jerome led Virginia (16-4) with 15 points in an ACC-Big East matchup that had a March Madness feel from the opening tip.

(7) Arizona 77, Washington 66: Kadeem Allen scored 14 points to lead five Arizona players in double figures and the Wildcats (20-2, 9-0 Pac-12) wore down the Huskies (9-12, 2-7) in Tucson, Arizona, to stay alone at the top of the Pac-12 standings.

The Wildcats won their 14th straight overall and 18th in a row at home.

Kobi Simmons added 13 points, and Allonzo Trier, Dusan Ristic and Lauri Markkanen had 12 apiece.

Freshman sensation Markelle Fultz scored 16 points for Washington but on 8-of-23 shooting. He was 0 for 4 on 3-pointers and missed all four of his free throws.

Washington led virtually entire first half before Arizona’s offense finally got moving and pulled away in the second.

(13) Louisville 85, North Carolina 60): Donovan Mitchell scored the first 14 points for Louisville and finished with 28 as the Cardinals (18-4, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) routed the Wolfpack (14-8, 3-6) in Louisville, Kentucky.

With Louisville down two guards because of injuries, Mitchell took charge right away. The sophomore hit four early 3-pointers, with two of them propelling a 15-0 run that made it 21-9.

Mitchell led Louisville to a second straight romp. He scored a career-high 29 Tuesday in a 106-51 win over Pittsburgh.

Abdul-Malik Abu and Maverick Rowan each had 13 points for the Wolfpack, who shot 38 percent and failed to follow up on their upset at No. 17 Duke.

(19) Cincinnati 94, South Florida 53: Freshman Jarron Cumberland scored 18 of his career-high 26 points in the second half as the Bearcats (19-2, 8-0 American Athletic) rolled to their 12th straight victory with a win over the Bulls (6-14, 0-9) in Cincinnati.

The Bearcats used their bench often against the conference’s last-place team. Cincinnati extended its longest winning streak since it took 15 in a row during 2013-14.

South Florida has dropped nine straight, a streak that includes the firing of coach Orlando Antigua on Jan. 3. The Bulls also lost nine in a row last season, when they finished 8-25. Michael Bibby scored 17 for the Bulls, who had a season-high 24 turnovers.

Nebraska 83, (20) Purdue 80: Michael Jacobson’s putback with 42 seconds left gave Nebraska the lead, and the Cornhuskers (10-11, 4-5 Big Ten) made 4 of 6 free throws the rest of the way to hold off the Boilermakers (17-5, 6-3) in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Reserve Jack McVeigh matched his season high with 21 points, and reserve Jeriah Horne had 16 points for the Huskers. They ended a five-game losing streak.

Dakota Mathias made 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead Purdue, which lost for the first time in four games. Carsen Edwards had 16 points, and Caleb Swanigan had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

The Huskers missed 11 of their first 15 shots after halftime, allowing Purdue to wipe out their 39-33 halftime lead. They clawed back to take the lead for good after Jacobson stole the ball from Swanigan and was there to put back McVeigh’s missed 3-pointer to put the Huskers up 79-78.

(24) Xavier 82, St. John’s 77: Trevon Bluiett had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the Muskateers (15-6, 5-3 Big East) held off a big rally from the Red Storm (10-13, 4-6) for a win at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Edmond Sumer had 17 points and seven assists for the Musketeers, but he was helped off the court by teammates with six minutes to play. He made a basket and was hit as he scored, but he had an apparent injury to his left leg. He was unable to take the free throw.

Xavier led 59-44 with 9:50 to play after a 3-pointer by Bluiett, who was coming off a career-high 40 points against Cincinnati. But the Red Storm just kept chipping away at the lead, and an 8-0 run got them within 68-66 with 4:16 left on a free throw by Marcus LoVett.

St. John’s was within two once more at 70-68 before Xavier was able to hold off the Red Storm over the final 3:40.