Thursday's basketball: Detroit Mercy hands IUPUI its 4th straight loss, retires Cureton's number
Detroit — Antoine Davis had 27 points as Detroit Mercy beat IUPUI 76-64 on Thursday night, the night it retired Earl Cureton’s No. 24.
Chris Brandon had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for Detroit (5-16, 3-5 Horizon League). Justin Miller added five assists.
Marcus Burk posted his first career double double with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Jaguars (5-16, 1-7), whose losing streak reached four games. Elyjah Goss added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jaylen Minnett had 15 points.
Detroit matches up against Illinois-Chicago at home on Saturday. IUPUI takes on Oakland on the road on Saturday.
More state men
(At) Illinois-Chicago 80, Oakland 50: Tarkus Ferguson totaled 19 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks as Illinois-Chicago routed Oakland.
Ferguson hit four 3-pointers for the Flames (9-12, 4-4), who shot 57% from distance (12 of 21). Godwin Boahen came off the bench to hit four 3s and score 14 points with six boards, four assists and three steals. Michael Diggins scored 13. Illinois-Chicago posted a season-high 25 assists.
Brad Brechting had 13 points for the Golden Grizzlies (7-14, 2-6). Rashad Williams and Xavier Hill-Mais scored 12 apiece with Hill-Mais adding eight rebounds.
Oakland shot just 34.5% overall, including 29% from distance (6 of 21). The Golden Grizzlies were outrebounded 34-26.
Saginaw Valley State 71, (at) Wayne State 57: Malik Ellison had 22 points and Myles Belyeu 20 for Saginaw Valley (12-6, 6-4 GLIAC).
For Wayne State (4-10, 1-9), Brailen Neely scored 21.
State women
No. 22 Northwestern 76, (at) Michigan State 48: Lindsey Pulliam and Veronica Burton scored 22 apiece, and Northwestern earned its fifth straight victory.
Northwestern (17-2, 7-1 Big Ten), ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2016, remained undefeated at home this season at 8-0.
Moira Joiner scored 17 points, with five 3-pointers, for Michigan State (11-8, 4-4).
(At) Northern Kentucky 69, Oakland 60: Breanne Beatty, Jalisha Terry and Kahlaijah Dean each scored 11 for Oakland (8-11, 3-5 Horizon), which lost its third straight game. Northern Kentucky is 10-9, 4-4.
(At) Wright State 67, Detroit Mercy 61: Sylare Starks scored 14 and Maxine Moore 12 for the Titans (2-17, 2-6). Wright State is 11-8, 6-2.
(At) Wayne State 74, Saginaw Valley State 64: Rebecca Fugate had 17 points, Kate Sherwood 13 points and Sam Cherney 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Warriors (10-8, 4-6) earned the GLIAC victory. For Saginaw Valley State (8-10, 4-6), Kaitlyn Zarycki led the way with 18 points and Mariah Cook 17.
Big Ten men
Minnesota 62, (at) Ohio State 59: Marcus Carr hit a winning 3-pointer with four seconds left and Minnesota beat struggling Ohio State.
Carr had 21 points as the Gophers (11-8, 5-4) rallied to stay with the Buckeyes in the second half, tying the game twice in last 1:37. His 3-pointer came right after Ohio State’s Kaleb Wesson missed a 3-point attempt with the score tied at 59.
Gabe Kalscheur added 13 points and Daniel Oturu had 11 for the Gophers, who’ve won three of their last four.
Kyle Young led Ohio State (12-7, 2-6) with 14 points.
Top 25 men
(At) No. 25 Houston 63, UConn 59: DeJon Jarreau had 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Caleb Mills scored 20 points and No. 25 Houston beat UConn 63-59 on Thursday night.
Jarreau and Mills combined for the final 17 points, including 12 free throws, as Houston overcame a six-point deficit in the final 5:15.
Houston (15-4, 5-1 American Athletic Conference) won its third straight despite shooting 36% from the floor. Houston was 25 of 34 from the free throw line in a foul-filled game.
Christian Vital scored 14 points, and Isaiah Whaley added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies (10-8, 1-4), who lost their third straight. UConn shot 36%, including 4 of 16 from 3-point range. UConn was 15 of 23 from the line.