Long leads George Mason past Creighton, 75-72
Cam Long scored 22 points and George Mason rallied late to beat Creighton 75-72 on Saturday.
Long hit 1 of 2 free throws after a technical foul was called on Blue Jays coach Dana Altman with 18 seconds remaining to give George Mason its first lead since the 19:34 mark of the second half. Luke Hancock’s dunk off a steal by Andre Cornelius put George Mason (5-5) up 75-72 with 5 seconds left to play.
Justin Carter’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out as the Blue Jays (3-5), who led for the majority of the second half, remained winless away from home.
Long had 22 points while Ryan Pearson added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four steals for George Mason, which took a 34-33 lead into halftime. PAllen Stinnett had 21 points for Creighton.
George Washington holds off Towson 73-69
TOWSON, Md. — Tony Taylor scored six of George Washington’s last 10 points, including the tiebreaking basket, as the Colonials held off Towson 73-69 on Saturday.
George Washington (7-2), which is off to its best start since opening the 2005-06 season at 9-1, led 61-49 with 9:24 left. The Tigers (2-5) used a 9-0 run, capped by RaShawn Polk’s 3-pointer, for a 61-58 lead with 6:36 left.
Towson’s Josh Thornton tied it at 69 on a 3-pointer with 1:02 left.
Taylor, who scored all nine of his points in the second half, hit an 18-footer with 27 seconds left, then Thornton missed a 3-point attempt with 9 seconds to go. Aaron Ware’s layup with 1 second remaining sealed the win.
Damian Hollis scored 13 points and was 4-for-4 from the field for the Colonials, and Tim Johnson added 12 points.
David Brewster had 16 points, Thornton added 14 and Robert Nwankwo had 13 rebounds for the Tigers.
Virginia Tech beats Penn State, 66-64
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Malcolm Delaney scored 11 of his 27 points during a key second-half stretch and Virginia Tech benefited from Penn State’s poor foul shooting in a 66-64 win Saturday night.
Delaney led the Hokies (8-1) to a 53-47 lead with 10:57 left after a three-point play.
Penn State (6-4) scraped together runs on second-chance points and transition buckets. Andrew Jones’ two foul shots put the Nittany Lions back on top 59-58 with 4:20 left
But Delaney sank two free throws after Chris Babb was whistled for an intentional foul on a fast break.
Later, Penn State’s Talor Battle missed two free throws, while Tech’s Dorenzo Hudson followed with two foul shots for a 62-59 lead with 1:50 left.
A deep 3 by Battle with 7.7 seconds left got Penn State within 65-64. After a Hokies free throw, Battle missed a potential game-tying layup at the buzzer.
Battle finished with 32 points.
Battle’s biggest blemish on the night was his 3 of 10 performance from the foul line, and the missed foul shots proved too much to overcome in the end.
Otherwise, Battle was in typical form, sparking the Nittany Lions all over the court — just like Delaney for the Hokies.
Delaney had scored 11 straight points for Virginia Tech midway through the second half to help the Hokies build their six-point advantage, including a layup past Penn State’s Tim Frazier and a deep 3 from the left wing on the next possession.
Delaney had nine points in the first half, but it was the Hokies’ physical play and post presence that frustrated Penn State. Six-foot-7 forward Jeff Allen and 6-foot-8 center Victor Davilla combined for 13 points and eight rebounds in the half to help the Hokies extend to their best start since coach Seth Greenberg took over in 2003.
But the half ended tied at 36 in large part because of 19 points in the period by Battle on 7 of 12 shooting. The quick point guard was Penn State’s best answer to a physical Virginia Tech squad that pushed around the Nittany Lions all over the floor.
David Jackson added 12 points and seven rebounds for Penn State.
