Austin, Texas – Kevin Durant had 30 points and 16 rebounds to help No. 15 Texas outlast No. 7 Texas A&M 98-96 in double overtime Wednesday night.
The win keeps the Longhorns (22-7) within reach of the conference title, which they can share with a win Saturday at No. 3 Kansas.
The Aggies’ Acie Law forced both overtimes with 3-pointers. His first over Durant with 1.1 seconds left in regulation tied it at 78-78. He did it again when he hit another with 26 seconds left in the first overtime to make it 88-88. It looked like he would do it again when he drove to the basket for a tying layup at the end of the second, but his shot was blocked by Damion James with 15 seconds left. Durant hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
Law, who finished with 33 points, got to the free-throw line with the Aggies (24-5) down by three with 1.4 seconds left. He made the first to pull them within two but was forced to miss the second to give his team a chance to grab the rebound but the final putback was well off the mark.
NO. 24 MARYLAND 85, NO. 14 DUKE 77 at Durham, N.C.: Mike Jones scored 25 points and D.J. Strawberry had two baskets during a decisive second-half spurt that carried the Terrapins (23-7) to their sixth straight win.
Maryland led by 12 points midway through the second half. After Duke made a run to tie it, the Terrapins took control in the final five minutes to sweep the Blue Devils (22-8).
NO. 19 VANDERBILT 99, S. CAROLINA 90 (OT) at Columbia, S.C.: Shan Foster scored a career-high 33, Derrick Byars added eight of his 18 points in overtime and the Commodores (20-9) surrendered a 17-point second-half lead before rallying to victory.
Stephane Lasme finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to become the third player in NCAA history with four triple-doubles in a season and lead Massachusetts to a 102-63 rout of La Salle in Amherst, Mass. Lasme joined Cal’s Jason Kidd (1994) and Drexel’s Michael Anderson (1986) in the exclusive club.
Area
Seldom-used backup senior forward Marcus Watkins got his first start of the season in his home finale, largely as a ceremonial nod, and responded with career highs of 15 points and a team-leading six rebounds in Missouri’s 91-82 win over Colorado.
“I was hoping I would start on senior night, but I didn’t know until right before the game,” Watkins said.
Matt Lawrence scored all of his 17 points in the first half for the Tigers (18-10), who survived a second-half charge by the Buffaloes (6-19), who have lost six in a row overall and are 2-34 the past 36 years at Missouri.
“Anytime you get yourself in a hole, it’s tough to come back,” lame duck coach Ricardo Patton said. “Especially on the road, unless you’re just running a fever and making everything you throw up.”
Kevin Langford scored a career-high 24 points to lead TCU (12-15) to a 77-58 victory over Wyoming (15-14) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Big 12
Iowa State (15-14) built a 16-point lead midway through the first half, then turned back three Nebraska (16-12) surges to win 69-63 in Lincoln, Neb.
Jarrius Jackson’s 26 points led Texas Tech (19-11) past visiting Baylor (13-15) 85-74.
Mountain West
Kevin Kruger scored a career-high 29 points and his late block of a shot by Chad Toppert, New Mexico’s best 3-point shooter, preserved an 85-83 win for UNLV (24-6) in Albuquerque.
Women
A’Quonesia Franklin scored a career-high 27 points and No. 14 Texas A&M (23-5) held off Texas 67-60 in College Station, Texas, to capture a share of the Big 12 Conference title with Oklahoma.
NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 88, NO 16 BAYLOR 61 at Norman, Okla.: Courtney Paris had 28 points and 18 rebounds for her 55th consecutive double-double, and Chelsi Welch added a career-best 24 points as the Sooners (23-4) put the game away just after halftime.
NO. 19 BOWLING GREEN 92, MIAMI (OHIO) 62 at Bowling Green, Ohio: Carin Horne scored 23 points and Ali Mann added 22 and the Falcons (26-3) never trailed after halftime.
