No. 8 Villanova 78,
No. 25 Temple 74
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Corey Stokes scored 24 points, Maalik Wayns had 21 and No. 8 Villanova won a heavyweight showdown with city-rival Temple, beating the No. 25 Owls 78-74 on Thursday night.
Mouphtaou Yarou had 14 points for the Wildcats (11-1) and helped them squash any chance of a second straight upset loss to the Owls. The unranked Owls stunned No. 3 Villanova last season and both teams were fired up this week for the rematch.
The game lived up to its billing as the marquee matchup of the season in city hoops.
Lavoy Allen scored 22 points for the Owls (9-3), Juan Fernandez had 20 and Ramone Moore 16.
No. 10 Missouri 81,
Old Dominion 58
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Marcus Denmon matched his season best with five 3-pointers and scored 22 points, helping No. 10 Missouri to a surprisingly decisive 81-58 victory over Old Dominion on Thursday night.
Reserve Michael Dixon added 18 points and four assists and Matt Pressey had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Tigers (13-1).
Missouri has won eight in a row for its first unbeaten December since 1991-92. The Tigers won their 56th in a row at home against non-conference opponents and made it look easy against the Colonial Athletic Association’s preseason favorite (9-3), which entered 12th in the RPI off a strong early schedule that included a three-point loss to Georgetown in the opener.
No. 16 BYU 90, Buffalo 82
AMHERST, N.Y. — Jimmer Fredette shook off a sluggish start to score 28 of his season-high 34 points in the second half and Noah Hartsock added 19 to lead No. 16 BYU over Buffalo 90-82 Thursday night.
Bandon Davies added 18 for the Cougars (13-1), who have won three straight following an 86-79 loss to UCLA almost two weeks ago.
The win was coach Dave Rose’s 140th at BYU, moving him into third place on the school’s all-time victories list. He passed G. Ott Romney.
Mitchell Watt had 17 points, Byron Mulkey contributed 16 and Javon McCrea had 15 for the Bulls (7-4). Buffalo had won three in a row.
No. 19 UCF 68, Princeton 62
ORLANDO, Fla. — Marcus Jordan scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half to help No. 19 Central Florida rally to a 68-62 win over Princeton in the final of the UCF Holiday Classic.
The son of NBA star Michael Jordan scored nine straight points early in the second half to wipe out a 37-29 halftime deficit for the Knights (13-0).
Dan Mavraides scored 20 points and Ian Hummer added 19 for Princeton (10-4).
Princeton scored the first eight points of the game and led by 10 in the first half behind the 3-point shooting of Mavraides. He hit 4 of 6 3-pointers and finished the half with 18 points.
Jordan made two free throws with 3:42 left to give UCF a 68-57 lead, and put the Knights ahead for good.
No. 21 Memphis 88, Lipscomb 70
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Wesley Witherspoon, three weeks removed from having surgery on his right knee, scored a season-high 28 points and had a career-best 14 rebounds, sending No. 21 Memphis over Lipscomb 88-70 on Thursday night.
Witherspoon made 10 of 14 from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. The Tigers (10-2) pulled away while hitting 12 of their first 13 shots in the second half.
Will Barton added 15 for Memphis, Joe Jackson had 13 and Antonio Barton 12.
Adnan Hodzic led the Bisons (7-4) with 22 points. Josh Slater finished with 12 and Brandon Brown had 10.