Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC) dominated on the offensive boards, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds and turning those into 22 second chance points.
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Lee and Johnson combined for five free throws in the final minutes to close out an emotional victory for Louisville, which avenged a loss 12 days ago at Duke.
With 9.4 seconds remaining in overtime, Isaac Humphries pulled down a rebound and after being fouled, spiked the ball in celebration.
He knew right away he made a mistake, and tried to talk the official out of the call. That technical foul was Humphries’ fifth, so while he was also fouled during the play, A&M was awarded two free throws.
House made both free throws after the technical to give A&M a 77-76 lead. Instead, Skal Labissiere entered the game and hit one of two to tie the game at 77.
Texas A&M got the ball back one last time, and after calling time out with 4.1 ticks left, called House’s number again.
With the clock winding down, Danuel House drove into traffic and missed a contested shot that hit the front of the rim.
If all goes well, that would mean Poythress, who averaged 10.0 points and 6.6 rebounds, would be back for the Cats’ game at Vanderbilt next Saturday. His teammates and coaches, however, wouldn’t have any part of it. They weren’t upset at him.
UCLA 77, Colorado 53: L OS ANGELES – Isaac Hamilton scored 22 points to lead UCLA (15-12 overall, 6-8 Pac-12). Kentucky had only one offensive rebound. “You kidding me? Great kid”. “I will learn from this #BBN”, Humphries tweeted. Then, out of a timeout, the national player of the year candidate fed Lee on a handsome lob with 43 seconds left to tie the game in what was ultimately the final field goal in regulation.
“I was fine”, Calipari said. Grayson Allen had a game-high 29 points for Duke (20-7), which had beaten a ranked team in their previous three games. Now here’s the question: was the decision to give Humphries a technical foul the correct one? With key pieces of the Wildcats’ schematic puzzle missing, seeing this team perform late in a game gives scary thought of what they can do when healthy.
Willis helped Kentucky spread the floor on offense and without him, it would take some grit to win on the road. Ben Simmons was out of the Tigers’ starting lineup for the first time all season, though the freshman standout still played 36 minutes and had 21 points and nine rebounds. The little leader racked up 22 points, 11 assists and four boards for his fourth double-double of the season.
Jamal Murray followed Ulis with 21 points and Isaiah Briscoe added 11 to round out three players in double figures. He was fouled immediately after grabbing the ball and had an opportunity to shoot free throws that would extend UK’s lead to as many as three points.
The second half would see a similar theme as A&M hit three of their first five threes and did just enough to force this game to come down to the wire.
The Wildcats remain in first place in the SEC despite the loss, but have a hard upcoming schedule with two of their next three games on the road.
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The thing is, the slamming of that ball isn’t unsportsmanlike or showing up the ref in any way. Just trying to get out of the gym, and we’re sitting there saying, ‘Oh, my gosh, we may get out of here.’ Then all the sudden, ‘What?
