College basketball: Tulsa uses late free throws to edge No. 5 Houston

Brandon Rachal hit two free throws with a tenth of a second remaining and finished with 22 points as Tulsa topped unbeaten No. 5 Houston 65-64 on Tuesday night.

After Caleb Mills made a 7-foot floater with six seconds left to give Houston its first lead in the final 13 minutes of the game, Rachal took a pass, drove the length of the court and was fouled by center Brison Gresham at the rim a fraction of a second before time expired. Rachal went to the line and calmly made both free throws.

The victory was Tulsa’s first over a top-5 team since winning at UCLA in 1996.

The victory lifted Tulsa to 2-1 in the American Conference and 5-3 overall. Houston (2-1, 7-1) had won its first seven games handily, the closest being a nine-point victory over UCF.

Quentin Grimes led the Cougars with 19 points and seven rebounds.

No. 1 Gonzaga 112, Dixie State 67

Corey Kispert scored 25 points, Joel Ayayi added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Gonzaga beat short-handed Dixie State.

Oumar Ballo added 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting for Gonzaga (9-0), which has won 43 consecutive home games, the longest streak in the nation.

Cameron Gooden scored 20 points, Jacob Nicholds had 11 and Jacob Greene 10 for Dixie State (4-2), which is in the first year of its transition to Division I basketball. The Trailblazers were down to nine players because of COVID-19 protocols and injuries.

Star Gonzaga freshman Jalen Suggs missed a second consecutive game with a right leg injury suffered last weekend in a win over Virginia.

No. 2 Baylor 93, Central Arkansas 56

MaCio Teague scored 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, preseason AP All-America guard Jared Butler had 17 points and Baylor remained undefeated with a rout of Central Arkansas.

Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchatchoua finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Matthew Mayer also scored 13 points, and Adam Flagler added 10 after missing the previous two games. Davion Mitchell had 12 assists and six rebounds.

Baylor (7-0) returned from its weeklong Christmas break with its sixth win by at least 30 points this season.

DeAndre Jones led Central Arkansas (1-7) with 19 points. Eddy Kayouloud added 14 points.

No. 9 West Virginia 75, Northeastern 51

Derek Culver scored 18 points, Oscar Tshiebwe had 12 points and 15 rebounds and West Virginia capitalized on its size advantage to beat Northeastern.

Emmitt Matthews added 13 points for the Mountaineers (8-2).

Tyson Walker scored 10 points for Northeastern (1-5) and was held seven points below his team-leading average.

No. 10 Iowa 87, Northwestern 72

Jordan Bohannon scored 24 points, CJ Fredrick added 19 and Luka Garza finished with 18 as Iowa beat Northwestern.

The Hawkeyes (8-2, 2-1 Big Ten) won their eighth consecutive home game against a ranked opponent.

Garza, the nation’s leading scorer at 28.8 points per game, had his streak of scoring 20 or more points against Big Ten opponents snapped at 18 consecutive games. He had just six points in the first half.

Pete Nance led Northwestern (6-2, 3-1) with a career-high 21 points, including 17 in the first half. Chase Audige had 14 points, Miller Kopp added 11, and Ryan Young 10.

No. 13 Texas Tech 79, Incarnate Word 51

Kevin McCullar scored 11 points in his season debut coming off an ankle injury and Texas Tech cruised in a tune-up before Big 12 play resumes.

Marcus Santos-Silva also had 11 points for the Red Raiders (8-2).

Keaston Willis scored 13 points for Incarnate Word (1-4), but the Cardinals’ leading scorer was 2 of 9 from the field as the team shot 36% (15 of 42). Willis was 8 of 11 on free throws.

No. 14 Rutgers 81, Purdue 76

Montez Mathis had a career-high 25 points, including 16 in the second half, and Rutgers beat Purdue without leading scorer Ron Harper Jr.

Harper tweaked his ankle in practice and was scratched an hour before tipoff. His injury is the latest for Rutgers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten).

All-Big Ten guard Geo Baker had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Jacob Young had 13 points and four assists.

Purdue (7-4, 2-2 Big Ten) punished Rutgers in the paint, led by Trevion Williams’ 21 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Thompson added 17 points.

Clemson 77, No. 18 Florida State 67

Clyde Trapp scored 15 points and Nick Honor had all his 13 points in the second half, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, as Clemson rallied past Florida State.

The Tigers (7-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) started their comeback early in the second half as Al-Amir Dawes hit a 3-pointer and Trapp scored three points, tightening the game.

The teams traded the lead 13 times over the next 10 minutes, and Korprivica tied things at 54-all.

Honor broke the tie and put Clemson ahead for good with a 3-pointer with 7:01 to play.

Scottie Barnes led Florida State (5-2, 1-1) with 14 points.

No. 24 Virginia Tech 80, Miami 78

Keve Aluma scored a career-high 26 points and Virginia Tech made crucial free throws in the final minute on the way to a victory over Miami.

Aluma hit 9 of 16 shots from the floor and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line for the Hokies (8-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their fourth straight game and will enter 2021 at the top of the ACC standings.

Justyn Mutts added 15 points for Virginia Tech, which made three free throws in the final 37 seconds to hold off the ‘Canes (4-3, 0-2).

Isaiah Wong and Matt Cross paced Miami with 16 points apiece.