UNDATED (AP) — James Akinjo scored 25 points and Matthew Mayer had all nine of his points in the closing minutes while putting No. 8 Baylor ahead to stay as the Bears overcame West Virginia 81-77 on Monday night.
Mayer hadn’t scored until his layup with 3:27 left to break a 66-66 tie, and put the Bears (19-3, 7-2 Big 12) in the lead for good. Jeremy Sochan had a steal in the backcourt and passed ahead to Mayer, who seconds later rebounded Sochan’s second missed free throw and made a strong inside basket. He later added a 3-pointer.
Taz Sherman, a Texas native, had a career-high 29 points with six 3-pointers to lead the Mountaineers (13-8, 2-6), who have their first six-game losing streak since the end of the 2012-13 season. Sean McNeil added 16 points.
Sherman didn’t play the final 3:42, staying on the floor for a length period after a turnover before finally getting up and slowly going to the bench.
In other College basketball action:
— Freshman Paolo Banchero had 21 points, fellow classmate A.J. Griffin added 13 and each had a team-high nine rebounds as No. 9 Duke handed Notre Dame its first home loss of the season in a 57-43 Atlantic Coast Conference rout. The Blue Devils pulled into a first-place tie with idle Miami with their fourth straight victory for coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is retiring at the conclusion of the season and was making his final appearance at the sold out Purcell Pavilion against protege Mike Brey, whose Irish saw their nine-game home win string end.
Auburn remains in top spot
UNDATED (AP) — Auburn remains No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the second straight week. The Tigers have won 17 straight games. Gonzaga is No. 2 followed by UCLA and Purdue. No. 23 Texas re-entered the poll as the week’s lone new addition.
