Kentucky Earns Conference Title

Patrick Sparks made five of his seven three-point baskets in the second half and scored a season-high 26 points, lifting No. 5 Kentucky to a 78-71 comeback victory over 16th-ranked Alabama on Saturday at Tuscaloosa, Ala., to clinch the Wildcats’ 43rd Southeastern Conference title.

Led by Sparks, Kentucky turned a 14-point deficit late in the first half into an eight-point cushion. Then the Wildcats held off a late charge by going eight for 10 from the free-throw line down the stretch, handing the Crimson Tide its first home loss of the season.

Kentucky, which improved to 22-3 overall and 13-1 in the conference, made 13 of 19 three-pointers.

After Alabama (21-6, 10-4) came within three points on Ronald Steele’s jumper with just under a minute left, Sparks sealed the victory with three free throws in the last 34 seconds.

No. 3 Boston College 70, Seton Hall 58 -- Jared Dudley had 19 points and seven rebounds to help the Eagles (23-2, 12-2) close in on the Big East regular-season title with a victory over the Pirates (11-14, 3-11) at Boston.

Boston College made 18 of 19 free throws in the final 8:08 to turn a two-point game into a runaway.

No. 7 Duke 58, St. John’s 47 -- The Blue Devils (21-4) had their worst offensive game of the season, but they were able to hold off the Red Storm (9-16) in a nonconference game at New York.

Lee Melchionni had 14 of his 16 points in the first half to lead Duke, which won its third game in a row after losing two straight.

No. 11 Louisville 53, Memphis 44 -- The Cardinals (24-4, 12-2) used a 12-0 second-half run to take the lead over the Tigers (16-12, 9-5) in a Conference USA game at Memphis, Tenn., and were led by Taquan Dean’s 14 points. Memphis shot 19.6% (11 for 56) from the field .

No. 13 Utah 69, Brigham Young 60 -- Andrew Bogut had 26 points and 13 rebounds and Marc Jackson finished with a career-high 11 assists to lead the Utes (24-4, 12-1) over the Cougars (9-19, 3-10) in a Mountain West Conference game at Salt Lake City.

No. 17 Connecticut 73, No. 18 Pittsburgh 64 -- Marcus Williams put the Huskies (19-6, 11-3) ahead to stay with a driving layup with 3 1/2 minutes left in a Big East victory over the Panthers (18-7, 8-6) at Pittsburgh.

No. 21 Charlotte 81, Southern Mississippi 58 -- Curtis Withers scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the 49ers (21-4, 12-2) routed the Golden Eagles (10-17, 1-14) in a Conference USA game at Charlotte, N.C.

No. 22 Oklahoma 103, Baylor 60 -- Taj Gray scored 16 points and the Sooners (21-6, 10-4) shot a school-record 66% from the field to beat the Bears (9-16, 1-13) in a Big 12 game at Norman, Okla.

No. 24 Cincinnati 89, Texas Christian 74 -- Jihad Muhammad had 21 points and the Bearcats (21-6, 10-4) shot a season-best 61% from the field to defeat the Horned Frogs (17-11, 7-7) in a Conference USA game at Fort Worth.

No. 25 Nevada 76, Fresno State 63 -- Nick Fazekas scored 28 points and the Wolfpack (22-5, 13-2) held the Bulldogs (14-12, 8-8) to two field goals in the first 16:56 of the second half to win the Western Athletic Conference game at Fresno.

OTHER GAMES

Carl Elliott stole a pass and made a three-pointer from about 30 feet as time expired at Dayton, Ohio, to give George Washington (18-6, 10-4) a 62-59 win over Dayton (16-9, 9-5) and sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 West.... Terrence Mack scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds at South Kingston, R.I., to lead Rhode Island (5-20, 3-11) to a 65-60 Atlantic 10 upset of St. Joseph’s (15-10, 12-2), which played without injured forward John Bryant for the first time since he broke his arm against Temple.... Mardy Collins scored 25 points to lead Temple (14-11, 10-4) to a 61-48 Atlantic 10 victory over Massachusetts (15-10, 8-6) in the Owls’ first game without Coach John Cheney, who was suspended three games for ordering rough play by one of his players.... Brandon Bass scored 22 points to lead Louisiana State (17-8, 10-4) to a 77-64 victory over Auburn (12-15, 3-11) in an SEC game at Auburn, Ala.... Jarrett Jack scored 21 points, including eight in a row to launch a second-half run, to lead Georgia Tech (16-9, 7-7) to a 76-72 victory over Miami (16-10, 7-8) in an ACC game at Coral Gables, Fla.... Antoine Wright scored 29 points and Texas A&M; (18-7, 7-7) pulled away for a 85-63 Big 12 win over Texas Tech (17-8, 9-5) at College Station, Texas.