CINCINNATI — With 10,409 fans holding their breath and the game on the line, freshman Lance Stephenson calmly dribbled the ball, lined up his free throw and made it. Then, he made another.
Stephenson was fouled with less than a second to play and made both free throws Wednesday night, rallying Cincinnati to a breakthrough 71-69 victory over No. 10 Connecticut in a wild Big East opener for both teams that was settled by the Bearcats’ most highly regarded recruit in years.
Cincinnati (9-3) had lost all five previous games against UConn (9-3). The Bearcats led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but the Huskies made a late run and tied it on Kemba Walker’s 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds to go.
No. 9 N. Carolina 87, Albany 70
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Ed Davis had 18 points to lead No. 9 North Carolina.
No. 11 Michigan St. 87, Texas-Arlington 68
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Durrell Summers and Draymond Green combined for 39 points to lead Michigan State.
No. 18 Temple 70, N. Illinois 60
DEKALB, Ill. — Juan Fernandez scored 26 points and Ryan Brooks added 19 for Temple.
Virginia 72, No. 24 UAB 63
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Sylven Landesberg scored 19 points for Virginia.
Illinois 89, No. 25 Northwestern 83 (OT)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Mike Tisdale scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Illinois.
Loyola Marymount 104, Seattle 89
LOS ANGELES — Vernon Teel scored 24 points and Jarred DuBois added 21 as Loyola Marymount topped the century mark for the first time since 1998. Drew Viney chipped in 19 points for the Lions (8-7). Mike Boxley scored 21 points to lead Seattle (6-8), and Charles Garcia added 17. Seattle made 32-of-77 shots from the field (41.6 percent).
EvCC 103, Quest University 80
Abbotsford, British Columbia — The Trojans had 15 3-pointers compared to just three for Quest. Dirk Snel (Cascade) led EvCC with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists and Aaron Matzen (Lynnwood) had 24 points and seven rebounds.
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