No. 1 Villanova routs Temple
PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Brunson helped Villanova continue its remarkable reign of Philadelphia.
Brunson had 22 of his career-high 31 points in No. 1 Villanova’s dominating first half and Omari Spellman scored 27 to help lead the Wildcats to an 87-67 rout of Temple on Wednesday night.
“He was incredible,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Brunson.
Donte DiVincenzo added 12 points for Villanova (11-0), which won its unprecedented 22nd straight Big 5 game.
The Wildcats, who moved into the top spot in the rankings this week, looked like the best team in the country in a dominating opening 20 minutes.
With his dad, Rick — a former Temple standout and current assistant coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves — sitting two rows behind the Villanova bench, Brunson led the way.
The 6-foot-2 junior point guard made 8 of 10 shots, including 5 of 7 three-point attempts, and added four assists while controlling the opening 20 minutes.
“I try to keep the same mindset, try to set the tone defensively and play my game, be aggressive, try to be a killer,” Brunson said. “(This) was one of those nights.”
Brunson added six rebounds and five assists and finished 11 for 16 from the field and 6 for 10 from beyond the arc in 38 turnover-free minutes.
Quinton Rose scored 27 points for the Owls (6-3), who began the week No. 11 in the RPI rankings. It was the third straight season Temple played Villanova as a No. 1, and the Owls fell to 2-18 all time against No. 1-ranked opponents.
Brad Davison’s free throw with two seconds to go lifted host Wisconsin (5-7) past Western Kentucky (6-4). Western Kentucky’s Darius Thompson hit a jumper that tied the score at 80 with two seconds left in regulation. Davison drew a foul while setting a screen and made the front end of a 1-and-1.
Aaron Jordan scored 22 points, Trent Frazier added 20, and host Illinois (8-4) beat Longwood (4-5).
Taren Sullivan scored 22 points and Martyce Kimbrough added 20 to lead visiting Findlay (10-2, 5-0) to a rout of Ohio Dominican (6-4, 2-2) in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Ohio Dominican shot 56.5 percent from the field in the first half and led 35-34 at halftime, but Findlay limited the Panthers to 36.7 percent shooting in the second half. Hasan Varence had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Panthers.
Women
Teaira McCowan scored a career-high 35 points and had 19 rebounds to help host Mississippi State (10-0) beat Oregon (8-2). The 6-foot-7 McCowan made 15 of 18 shots from the field.
Cincinnati Bengals co-founder Pete Brown died on Tuesday at the age of 74.
The team announced his death on Wednesday without giving further details.
Pete Brown, along with his father, Paul, and brother Mike, co-founded the Bengals in the mid1960s and still served as the senior vice president of player personnel for the club.
“Pete was the quiet one, but his talents spoke volumes,” said Bengals president Mike Brown. “Pete was more prone to action than talk, and his contributions to the Bengals were significant. He was a fine scout and judge of prospects, a wonderful business partner, and an even better brother and family member. Everyone who knew Pete cared about him and respected him. I feel his loss deeply.”
Pete was a successful football player at Denison, after which he helped form the Bengals and then led the club’s player personnel department for many decades.
Pete fell in love with kinesiology and strength training while a young man, and he helped introduce the Nautilus exercise and training system in Cincinnati. Pete later went on to found Hammer Strength, a business he grew into one of the nation’s leading strength training machine companies.
Falcons great Nobis dies
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy says quarterback Aaron Rodgers is getting ready to play against the Carolina Panthers this weekend.
Rodgers was medically cleared to return from a collarbone injury on Tuesday night.
Rodgers missed the last seven games after breaking his right collarbone in Week 6 at Minnesota. The two-time NFL MVP is eligible to be activated on Friday, eight weeks after initially going on injured reserve.
Browns castoff Britt signs with Patriots