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Late Night Snacks: Saint Louis honors a special fan (VIDEO)

appling

In early June the Saint Louis basketball family lost its biggest fan, as 9-year old Joshua Brown passed away after a battle with glioblastoma multiforme, a rare form of brain tumor. SLU connected with Joshua through the Friends of Jaclyn program, which connects children suffering from brain tumors with college sports teams.

Prior to the Billikens’ 74-47 win over Bowling Green on Saturday evening the team gave the Brown family an Atlantic 10 championship ring in Joshua’s memory.

GAME OF THE DAY: Toledo 80, Detroit 78

Thanks to Julius “Juice” Brown the Rockets are still undefeated (5-0), as his three-point play with six seconds remaining capped a wild comeback at Calihan Hall. With 15:20 to go in the game the Titans led 58-39 following two Juwan Howard Jr. free throws. From that point forward Toledo outscored Detroit 41-20, with J.D. Weatherspoon (14 points) and Rian Pearson (16 points) figuring prominently in the rally. Howard led Detroit with a game-high 23 points.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES:

1) No. 1 Michigan State 87, Oklahoma 76: Keith Appling may have finished the game with just two assists, but on this night the Spartans needed him to score in order to hold off the Sooners. Appling finished with 27 points, scoring eight of those in the final 3:04 of the game. Gary Harris added 21 points and Branden Dawson posted a double-double (18 points, ten rebounds) for the Spartans. Oklahoma’s Cameron Clark, who was close to unstoppable early on, finished with 32 points and seven rebounds to lead all scorers.

2) No. 24 North Carolina 82, Richmond 72: The Tar Heels didn’t get off to the best of starts at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, but they were able to do enough in the second half to take care of Richmond. Marcus Paige (26 points) and Brice Johnson (24 points, 11 rebounds) led the way for UNC, who will play No. 3 Louisville in Sunday’s title game. Unfortunately for the Heels, the “P.J. Hairston Watch” continues.

3) No. 12 Wisconsin 76, Oral Roberts 67: Frank Kaminsky led five Badger starters in double figures with 21 points as Wisconsin held off the Golden Eagles in Madison. As for ORU, their chances of winning the Southland may have taken a hit with head coach Scott Sutton revealing after the game that sophomore guard Obi Egemano is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL (suffered in the game prior at Saint Louis).

STARRED:

1) Doug McDermott (Creighton): While the underclassmen get the majority of the headlines McDermott simply continues to produce. In Creighton’s 82-72 win over Tulsa McDermott tallied 33 points and 15 rebounds.

2) Elijah Pittman (Marshall): 35 points (8-for-13 3PT), seven rebounds and two assists in the Thundering Herd’s 96-78 win over UNCW.

3) Keith Appling (Michigan State): Scored 27 points (8-for-12 FG), with 8 of those coming in the final 3:04 after Oklahoma pulled to within four, to lead the Spartans past the Sooners, 87-76.

STRUGGLED:

1) LIU-Brooklyn. The three-time defending NEC champions have taken two beatings during their three-game stop in southern California. After losing to UC Irvine by 20 Friday night the Blackbirds fell 102-70 to Eastern Washington on Saturday.

2) George Mason. The Patriots, who entered Saturday’s game at Iona 4-0, did not show up in New Rochelle ready to play. With 8:55 remaining in the first half George Mason trailed 34-5 in a game they’d go on to lose 89-73.

3) Rutgers. Leading William & Mary 33-24 at the half, the Scarlet Knights were outscored 48-29 in the second half of their 72-62 loss to the Tribe. And Rutgers shot 10-for-19 from three in the game as well.

TOP 25 SCORES:


  • No. 1 Michigan State 87, Oklahoma 76
  • No. 3 Louisville 71, Fairfield 57
  • No. 11 Memphis 98, Nicholls 59
  • No. 12 Wisconsin 76, Oral Roberts 67
  • No. 23 Creighton 82, Tulsa 72
  • No. 24 North Carolina 82, Richmond 72

NOTABLES:


  • No. 3 Louisville wasn’t particularly sharp on Saturday as they beat Fairfield 71-57 in the second game of the afternoon doubleheader at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Chris Jones scored 15 points and Montrezl Harrell added 14 (and 13 rebounds) to lead the way.
  • The proper tonic for No. 11 Memphis on the heels of their poor performance at No. 8 Oklahoma State: Nicholls. Austin Nicholls led five Tigers in double figures with 20 points as Memphis beat Nicholls (don’t call them Nicholls State) 98-59.
  • Doug McDermott wasn’t the only standout in No. 23 Creighton’s 82-72 win over Tulsa, as Austin Chatman accounted for 17 points and nine assists.
  • Preseason Patriot League favorite Boston University picked up a solid road victory, as they beat preseason Big West favorite UC Irvine 74-68. D.J. Irving (18 points, six rebounds) and Dom Morris (17 and eight) led the way for the Terriers.
  • Five players scored in double figures as Vanderbilt bounced back from a tough loss to Providence, beating Morgan State 75-66.
  • Speaking of bouncing back from tough losses, Seton Hall beat Virginia Tech 68-67 with Fuquan Edwin sealing the game at the foul line. Now 4-2, the Pirates won’t be a pushover in the Big East.
  • Joe Harris only scored nine points but it didn’t matter as Virginia beat Liberty, 75-53. Anthony Gill scored 13 off the bench, and the Cavaliers will need that kind of production from the South Carolina transfer when they take on tougher competition.
  • The lone Division I team without a conference, NJIT, moved to 4-2 on the season with a 91-88 overtime win over Lafayette. Not sure if (or when) the Highlanders find a home, but the best thing Jim Engles and company can do to help their cause is win games.
  • Mark Henniger led five Kent State players in double figures with 20 points as the Golden Flashes held off Niagara, 102-97.

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